Opposition Leader Don Polye

Opposition Leader Don Polye said the Opposition was ready to challenge the nomination fee increase in the Supreme Court.

He said the Constitutional Amendment Bill had gone through only the first reading with 75-14 votes in its favour in the last Parliament session.

The Opposition Leader is calling on the people to mount pressure on their parliamentarians to shift their plan to vote against it, citing the Bill is draconian, and a direct abuse of human rights.

Polye urged Parliamentarians to use their moral conscience to vote against it.

“Our people would eager to see him continue to discharge his duties independently without fear or favour like this until the Return of Writs on July 24.

“Our alternate government will continue working side by side with the Electoral Commission and other stakeholders to see a fair, free and democratic election delivered this year,” Polye said.

Polye has assured the people that their alternate government would continue to scrutinize the electoral processes to avoid electoral fraud.

Polye said the current legislation giving KCH the right to collect all revenues from government owned companies; opens the door for abuse by a few individuals.  

He gave an example of the current transaction done by KCH to purchase land to relocate PNGDF establishments out of Port Moresby.

The circumstances surrounding the transaction had resulted in Prime Minister Peter O’Neill announcing a Commission of Inquiry and two state ministers stepping aside from their portfolios.       

The two-day event which was supposed to take place on Tuesday but was cancelled  by the Chief Secretary to Government, Isaac Lupari in front of Cabinet Ministers, Departmental and Statutory heads, District Development Authority CEOs, Development Partners, and Business executive at the Stanley Hotel.

Lupari said many parliamentarians were absent and were unable to attend and were in their electorates after two weeks of Parliament sessions.

Opposition Leader Don Polye said from advice he received from his lawyers there are no legal standing under the Education Act to execute the suspension of school principals for charging extra fees on students.  

“I have standing to take legal actions because they (Principals) have not broken any laws,” Polye said in a media conference today.  

The Department of Education in a circular warned school principals and board chairman’s throughout the country not to impose and fees on students under the National Government’s free education policy.      

The Opposition last week gave documents of what it claimed was a fraudulent land purchase to OC to investigate Defence Minister Fabian Pok and State Owned Enterprise Minister William Duma.

Both Ministers voluntary stepped aside on Monday to allow for the Commission of Inquiry to conduct investigations into the land purchase for the relocation of PNGDF establishments out of Port Moresby.        

“I went and gave the Ombudsman the full documents, knowing well that the Ombudsman Commission does not have the full capacity, I did my job,” said the Opposition Leader.

The Kandep MP and parliamentary leader of Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party made this comment in a media conference in Port Moresby today.

Polye said with limited funding the PNG Electoral Commission (PNGEC) will not be able to run a free and fair election.  

He said the funding constrain have affected the updating of Common Roll and also preparation for the elections which is fve months away.

Polye questioned the integrity of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill in a media conference today in Port Moresby.

He said, the PM must lead by example and also step aside from the allegations levelled against him which had seen the Ombudsman Commission referring him to appropriate authorities for investigations.

The Kandep MP and parliamentary leader of Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party said the decision by Defence Minister Fabian Pok and Minister for State Enterprises William Duma to step aside is to play public perceptions with elections in four months’ time.

The current nomination fee is K1,000, and the O’Neill – Dion Government will certainly make amendment to the Organic Law on National and Local Level Government Elections (OLPLLG) in the March sitting before heading to the polls.

O’Neill in the second reading of the proposed legislative amendment, to change K1,000 to K10,000 on OLPLLG got an absolute majority vote 75- 14 despite shouting by the Opposition bench for more debates in Parliament on Wednesday.                

O’Neill was responding to a series of questions from Opposition Leader Don Polye during Question Time in Parliament today.  

Opposition Leader Don Polye asked who is the in-country agent of the Indonesia Company awarded to print ballot papers, the bidding process, the cost compared to Government Printing Office, shareholding of Tried Print and the extension of Form 29 to fill bio-data of intending candidates.