The results of the 2017 National General Elections will determine whether Manus Province will progress or remain stagnant, as it has been over the last 41 years.
Manusians say progress and tangible development are non-existent in the political realm of the province.
Health, education services, infrastructure and roads linking villages on the mainland have been neglected for decades.
Resident Chawi Konabe says they want nothing less than visionary leaders who have the interest of the people at heart, leaders who will effect change and development.
Echoing similar sentiments, family and sexual violence advocate Irene Pokris openly shared the struggles faced by the womenfolk in the province.
She says improving maternal and family and sexual violence services, as well as the general wellbeing of women and girls, are the key areas they would like their next crop of leaders to address.
Women are an integral part of the province, and collective and meaningful development and progress can be achieved if women’s lives are empowered, she adds.