Registrar of Political Parties

He said the party conventions will allow them to discuss vital party issues.

“Parties are required to hold their party conventions after a general election. So far only two parties have done that (The National Alliance and Social Democratic Party).”

He encourages parties to also focus on registering more members.

“This is a call I’ve been making every now and then; a party cannot survive without its members. This is critical to the survival of any political party. So membership is very important.”

Dr Gelu said this upon receiving acquittals from the PNG National Party after the 2017 National General Elections.

He said it is important for parties and winning candidates to submit their financial returns within three months after the date they were declared.

Gelu explains that this is a requirement under sections 88 and 89 of the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates.

PNG National Party General Secretary, Dick Wama, presented the party’s national election report and acquittals on Friday to the Registrar of Political Parties.

The Registrar of Political Parties, Dr Alphonse Gelu, said the outcome of the 2017 National Election indicates that more has to be done to address inequalities in leadership.

The MoU is a long term commitment and is vital to strengthen the registry’s ability to support women candidates and pool political parties’ support for women.

Officiating at the signing, Dean of the College of Asia and the Pacific, Professor Michael Wesley commended the 165 women who contested this year’s elections.

The United Nations Development Programme has joined the Registrar of Political Parties, the Ombudsman Commission and the highest polling female candidate in the national elections, Rufina Peter, to issue the appeal.

This comes after the 2017 10^th Parliament sitting saw the absence of woman MPs.

Assistant Representative for UNDP and Head of Governance, Julie Bukikun, said for the first time in 25 years, since the 1992 elections, more female candidates were nominated for elections than ever before; 167 of 3,332 were female candidates.

The 2017 National Election writs will be issued in April, and 44 political parties will be endorsing candidates for the 111 seats in Parliament.     

Dr Gelu said parties cannot be seen as operating out of hotel rooms or under the trees.

“In convention, political parties will also endorse their plans. Campaign plans would allow the political parties to have a clear plan on how they would approach the election. The campaign plans would include things such as the messages, policies, campaign schedules, finance, and so on. 

The 10 parties invited to present their four main party policies where; Paradise Kingdom Party (PKP), PNG Socialist Party (PNGSP), PNG One Nation Party (PNGONP), PNG First Party (PNGFP), Model Nation Party (MNP), Trust PNG Party (TPNGP), PNG Youths Party, PNG Human Rights Party (PNGHRP), Nations Interest Party, and PNG Wantok in Godly Services Party (WINGS).

Party officials who attended were PNGSP, PNGONP, PNGHRP, PKP, TPNGP, PNGFP, MNP and WINGS.             

This was announced by Registrar of Political Parties and Candidates, Dr. Alphonse Gelu, today following a forum with executives of political party’s with parliamentary representatives.

Gelu said he used the forum to inform them on the mechanism which the executives, mainly the General Secratries, will be using to report to the Office of the Registrar.

“It is those General Secretaries that failed to perform their duties that the Registry is targeting to get them to pull their socks up.