O’Neill confident to remain as PM

The O’Neill – Dion coalition government showed their numerical strength with a head count of Members of Parliament in the room after a media conference by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill in Port Moresby this afternoon.

A tired looking prime minister fronted the media around 4:15pm straight after arriving from Alotau.

After four nights in the capital of Milne Bay Province reviewing its achievements of the last four years and maintaining its Alotau Accord before the Vote of No-Confidence count tomorrow, O’Neill boasted that he has the numbers.

During the head count, there were 76 MPs present and the Leader of Government Business and Finance Minister James Marape said five more MPs are not present.

With 81 MPs confirmed, Prime Minister O’Neill says his government is intact.  

 "Tomorrow we will go into Parliament; we will show our strength of our numbers.  We will allow the motion to be introduced like we have done last Friday.

"When it is introduced there will be no other agenda, even though we are not happy with the Court decision interfering with Parliamentary business for the first time in the country's history, we will conform to the Court Order,” O’Neill said.

The Opposition need to master 56 votes to unseat the current coalition government in the VONC tomorrow.

Parliament will sit at 10am. 

Author: 
Charles Yapumi