Vote of no-confidence

The country’s legislators will be debating the vote of no-confidence at 2pm tomorrow.                       

“It’s important for the public to know that police is not there to dispel (them) to go into Parliament,” Baki said.  

“I do not want anyone to feel intimidated, but there are processes and procedures when you enter parliament.

“I appeal to Port Moresby to be peaceful.”

Meanwhile, Baki said the University of Technology and University of PNG campus is quiet because of the current police presence. 

Micah in a media conference this afternoon said, party leaders in the coalition have yet to meet following the Supreme Court decision yesterday directing Parliament Speaker to recall the House of representative to debate the motion of the Vote of No-Confidence.             

“I want to make it clear as the leader of the People’s Progress Party that our party is still a member of the coalition that elected the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill after the 2012 elections,” Micah said.

Submissions were made by parties in court yesterday on the Opposition application challenging the conduct of parliament when it adjourned to August 2 without considering the Vote of no-confidence motion after it was filed on the speaker’s office on June 7.

Opposition Leader Don Polye’s lawyer Marshall Cook told the court the motion for no confidence vote against the Prime Minister that was filed on June 7 was signed by more than 11 MPs.

The Vanimo Green MP has thrown his support behind Opposition Leader Don Poyle’s Supreme Court appeal to ask Parliament to reconvene.

Parliament was adjourned last week Wednesday to August 2, one day after the Opposition filed the VONC motion.   

“This issue about Peter O’Neill is not a new issue; I made it very clear I decided to move away from this man on 11 August 2011 because I have seen who this guy is,” Namah told media this afternoon.  

“This guy is bad for our country and democracy.

Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia in hearing the application today indicated the Court will deal with the case in the next two weeks.

Leader of Opposition, Don Polye yesterday instructed his lawyer, Loani Henao to file the application challenging the conduct of parliament when it adjourned to August 2 without considering the Vote of no- confidence motion.

The Opposition on June 7 filed the fourth Vote of no-confidence motion, however on June 8 at 10:30am; Parliament was adjourned to August 2.

Opposition Leader Don Poyle in a news conference today said: “A Constitutional process must be accomplished.”

He was referring to the Motion of Vote of No-Confidence (VONC) which the Opposition filed last Tuesday, but the next day, the Government used its numerical strength to adjourn Parliament, into the VONC grace period.  

After July 27, 2016, no motion of VONC can be moved against the Government.  

Poyle stated the six reasons for submitting the VONC against the O’Neill-Dion Government are;

In a media conference today in Lae, the Governor said we are months away from the national elections and a vote of no-confidence is unnecessary.

"I did sign for the vote last year but not this year, which was lodged on the 22nd of March," he said.

Naru stated that he didn’t meet with the government or the opposition regarding the vote of no-confidence and therefore didn't sign the papers, which subsequently didn't muster the required numbers.

He dispelled rumours that both parties contacted him for support.

It has clearly outlined three specific order which it wants to court to deliberate on.

The vote of no-confidence was dismissed by the acting Speaker and chairman of the Permanent Parliamentary Committee on Private Business, Aide Ganasi.

Ganasi in his statement told Parliament that the motion lacked the number of signatures under section 145 of the Constitution.

Opposition Leader Don Polye, when addressing the media, said their next step is to file an application to the Supreme Court to seek the court to give the following orders:

Regardless of  a Point of Order, attempts from the Opposition bench, acting Speaker and chairman of the Permanent Parliamentary Committee on Private Business Aide Ganasi did not entertain them.

Ganasi in his statement told Parliament that the motion lacked the number of signatures under section 145 of the Constitution.

According to law the number of signatures on the motion must be 11.

However, the Opposition has only 9 signatures on the motion.

The motion is sponsored by the Deputy Opposition Leader Sam Basil, and seconded by the country’s first Prime Minister Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare.

“We the Opposition confirmed that the motion was successfully delivered to the office of the (Parliament) Speaker, and received by the Deputy Speaker (Aide Ganasi).      

In a news conference after the first sitting of Parliament for 2016, Basil said the motion was accepted by the Speakers office.