William Powi

This seat was the first to go to the polls and the last to have its writ returned after a declaration was made in Port Moresby “under special circumstances”.

The Southern Highlands regional seat saw three months of prolonged counting to rejected declaration results, changes in appointments of returning officers and eventually a declaration in Port Moresby on the evening of 27 September 2017, without the alleged completion of the scrutiny process. 

The committee comprising of MPs Joe Sungi, Jim Kas and Dr Allan Marat, travelled to the region in 2016 and 2017 to compile the report.

Its recommendations included:

This is in preparation for the swearing - in of the provinces, Provincial Assembly council members.

Meantime, the Prime Minister, Peter O'Neill, is expected to arrive today as well to be sworn-in.

Other members of the Assembly include Governor, William Powi, Imbonggu MP, Pila Ninigi, Mendi MP, Michael Nali, Nipa Kutubu MP, Jeffrey Komal and Kagua Erave MP, Wesley Raminai.

Meanwhile, police are maintaining road checks and can be observed to be checking vehicles driving into and out of Mendi.

More updates to come.

This was against a notice of motion that was filed by Southern Highlands Governor William Powi.

Powi had filed a motion to refer 8 proposed questions to the Supreme Court for interpretation.

The motion is brought pursuant to section 18 of the Constitution.

The eight proposed questions relate to the proper exercise of power by the Electoral Commissioner to stop counting of votes and declare the first respondent, William Powi, as candidate elected under Section 175 of the Organic Law on National and Local Level Government Elections.

Electoral Commissioner Patilias Gamato received the writ on Thursday night at the PNG Electoral Commission headquarters in Port Moresby.

On Thursday, several candidates voiced their concerns and asked for counting to proceed into eliminations to complete the LPV system. They claimed none of the 25 candidates reached the absolute majority after the primary vote counts.

However, just hours after talking to the media, Gamato accepted the writ from the Provincial Returning Officer Steven Gore Kaupa, which automatically recognised incumbent Powi as the duly-elected governor.

This was the ruling of the court after incumbent MP, William Powi, went to court, asking it to stop counting progressing to the quality check stage and prevent elimination from starting until 84 rejected ballot boxes, kept in Mendi, are taken to Mt Hagen for counting.

Powi’s lawyer went to court seeking the interim orders which were refused. The Southern Highlands regional seat is one of the only two outstanding electorates where the writs are yet to be returned, despite being one of the first provinces to go to the polls.

Jerry Kiwa, Ps Bernard Paul and Joe Kobol say media plays an important role in disseminating information and must respect its editorial guidelines of reporting facts and balanced stories.

The leaders’ comment came after a wide publication on radio, television and the two daily papers that 5 men were killed over an election riot in Mendi last Friday.

He said this following continued clashes in Mendi, allegedly by supporters of Powi and Kobol, which have resulted in several deaths and destruction of property.

In a statement, Baki said ongoing fights and killings are not solutions for election related disputes.

“Leaders must take ownership of the situation and actively and positively contribute towards peace and normalcy,” said Baki.

Powi is a People’s National Congress Party candidate defending his seat in the 2017 National Election.

“I rejected the declaration because they have yet to reach the absolute majority mark,” Gamato told Loop PNG this afternoon.  

He added that counting must first be completed before a winner can be declared.  

However, Powi and Provincial Returning Officer Jacob Kurap in a media conference today claimed the declaration was valid and in line with the Organic Laws of Provincial and Local Level Government Elections.