Brief History of Votes of No Confidence in PNG's Parliament and Changes in the Constitution
Lemach Lavari
Content Research & Communications Officer - PNG at ABC International Development
Timeline of PNG Parliaments
1st Parliament: 1975 – 1977 (2-year term) Michael Somare appointed Prime Minister (PM) by the Constitution.
2nd Parliament: 1977 – 1982 Somare elected PM by Parliament following 1st National General Election, served 32 months (2.6 years) before being removed by vote of no confidence (VONC) and replaced by Julias Chan who served 2.3 years up to the next elections.
3rd Parliament: 1982 – 1987 Somare elected PM following General Elections, served 40 months (3.3 years) before being removed by VONC and replaced by Paias Wingti who served 1.7 years up to the next elections.
4th Parliament: 1987-1992 Wingti re-elected PM following General Elections, served 12 months before being removed by VONC and replaced by Rabbie Namaliu who served 4 years up to the next elections.
5th Parliament: 1992 – 1997 Wingti elected PM following General Elections, served 15 months before resigning and re-elected, served 11 months before Supreme Court voided his re-election. Chan elected to fill vacancy and served 2.5 years before being forced to resign. John Giheno served as acting PM for 4 months up to 1997 General Elections.
6th Parliament: 1997-2002 Bill Skate elected PM following General Elections, served 2 years before resigning to avoid a motion of no confidence replaced by Mekere Morauta who served up to 2002 General Elections.
7th Parliament: 2002-2007 Somare elected PM following General Elections, served the full term in office.
8th Parliament: 2007-2012 Somare elected PM following General Elections, served 4.2 years before illegally removed by Parliament after declaring vacancy of the PM’s position, Parliament voted Peter O’Neill who served 1 year up to 2012 General Elections.
9th Parliament: 2012-2017 O’Neill re-elected as PM following General Elections. O’Neil survived a VONC (56 votes to 21) in 2016 and remained PM for the full term.
10th Parliament: 2017 – 2019. Peter O’Neill re-elected PM following 2017 General Elections. With a VONC against him imminent, O’Neill resigned on 29 May 2019. Parliament voted James Marape on 30 May 2019 for PM (101 votes, to Sir Mekere Mourata’s 8).
11th Parliament: James Marape re-elected as PM following the 2022 National General Elections.
?Key Points to note -
Amendments to Section 145 (MOTIONS OF NO CONFIDENCE) of the Constitution
In 1991 the Namaliu Government amended the Constitution to extend the grace period from 6 to 18 months. Also, restricting a vote of no confidence within the last 12 months of the 5 year term of Parliament, to ensure stability.
In 1992 Wingti was returned as Prime Minister following the General Elections and benefited from the 18-month grace period amendment by Namaliu Government.
In 2000 the Mekere Government also introduced constitutional amendments introducing the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPAC). These amendments restricted voting rights of Members of Parliament which included voting to elect a Prime Minister. The OLIPAC also purposely restricted Members rights to change political parties or vote against their party’s collective decision, making it difficult for them to cross the floor to challenge the Government or hold it accountable.
In 2002 Somare was returned as Prime Minister following General Elections. The constitutional amendments by the Mekere Government ensured the Somare Government serve the full five-year term for the first time in PNG’s Parliament history.
However, in July 2010 the Supreme Court upheld a special reference filed by the Western Provincial Government seeking the constitutional interpretation of certain provisions of the Mekere Government’s constitutional amendments and the specific restrictive provisions in the OPLIPAC. The Supreme Court ruled that the Mekere Government's constitutional amendments and certain provisions of the OPLIPAC were unconstitutional for restricting the rights and freedoms of Members of Parliament to vote and debate including the right to assemble or change political parties.
In 2012 PM O’Neil amended the section 145 of Constitution, extending the grace period from 18 months to 30 months.
In 2013 PM O’Neil proposed further amendments, amending the notice period for a VONC from 7 days to 1 month and amending the required number of MPs to endorse the motion from one-tenth (12 out of 111 MPs) to one-twentieth of Parliament. Parliament approved the amendments in 2013.
On Sep 4, 2015, the Supreme Court invalidated the constitutional amendments made by the O’Neill-Dion government in 2013 to extend the ‘grace period’ for a vote of no confidence against a government from 18 months to 30 months.
Hence, Section 145 of the Constitution states that the grace period before a VONC is 18 months with a notice period of 1 week.?
Reasons for Amendment of Section 145: Stability VS Accountability
In 1991, Sir Rabbie Namaliu’s government made amendments to extend the grace period to 18 months. It was argued that the extension was necessary to quell instability within the Government, often caused by shifting political allegiances.
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O’Neill used a similar argument 21 years later to justify the amendments that came into effect in 2013. He contended that ‘the legislation (amendments) was designed to further enhance the stability in the Government’ and to prevent PNG from reverting ‘back to decades past where governments could be changed every few months.’
Proponents of political stability argue that stability is necessary for the government to devise and implement policy programs to bring development and provide a favourable business environment, and that changing governments disrupts the implementation of development programs. (Kabuni, 2018).
However, the Supreme Court reasoned that the issue with the amendments is not about stability but accountability.?
The Court argued that the amendments were designed to suppress parliamentary accountability and responsible government by allowing a government to ‘entrench itself in power, become autocratic and escape being responsible to the Parliament’
The court held that ‘a vote of no confidence is an integral part and a legitimate process and procedure of a democratic Parliament’ and that ‘should never be curtailed or suppressed’. Implicit in the court’s decisions was the view that mechanisms of accountability should not be discounted at the expense of political interest.?
The Court noted that in the last 40 years, PNG has had only three votes of no confidence so the need for stability is somewhat exaggerated (Kama, 2015)
In addition, political instability in Melanesia is a result of MPs who consider access to elected office as the main avenue for power and wealth, and the outcome of a struggle by those MPs not in control of the resources to oust the Executive. Those in the Executive controlling the resources are then forced to use bribery, coercion and all kinds of malpractice to remain in power. Given this state of affairs, political stability would simply allow the malpractice of an irresponsible government to continue. (Kabuni, 2018)
?Reference:
1.????? ABC News “Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill survives no confidence vote 85-21” July 22 2016. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-22/papua-new-guinea-prime-minister-wins-no-confidence-vote/7651404
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2.????? Bal Kama, “A Political Dilemma Looms” The National. October 19, 2015 https://www.thenational.com.pg/a-political-dilemma-looms/
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3.????? Kabuni, Michael, “Does political stability consolidate irresponsible government? PNG 2012-2018.” Devpolicy Blog. July 16, 2018 https://www.devpolicy.org/does-political-stability-consolidate-irresponsible-government-png-2012-2018-20180716/
4. Kabuni, Michael (June 19, 2019) PNG’s fluid politics: winners and losers from O’Neill to Marape https://devpolicy.org/pngs-fluid-politics-winners-and-losers-from-oneill-to-marape-20190619/?
5.????? Kabuni, Michael, “What it takes to change a prime minister in PNG” Devpolicy Blog. December 11 2020. https://devpolicy.org/what-it-takes-to-change-a-prime-minister-in-png-20201211-2/
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6.????? Kramer Brian, “SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST O’NEILL GOVERNMENT” PNGBLOGS. September 07, 2015 https://www.pngblogs.com/2015/10/is-pnc-intact-inside-track-on-vote-of.html
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7.????? National Parliament of Papua New Guinea. “Parliament Sitting Dates” https://www.parliament.gov.pg/parliament/sitting-dates-2018
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8.????? NICHOLAS ISAAC . “Opposition Signs Agreement To Move Vote Of No Confidence Motion”. Post Courier. November 20, 2018. https://postcourier.com.pg/opposition-signs-agreement-move-vote-no-confidence-motion/
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9.????? One PNG, “PNG Speaker: Vote of no confidence can be moved after 18 months” November 29, 2018. https://www.onepng.com/2018/11/png-speaker-vote-of-no-confidence-can.html
HR Manager _ Gabiga Group of Companies
10 个月Thank you for writing this article. To note only 2 government serving full term shows that our government system is very unstable and fragile, it indicates uncertainty and fear of being changed on the government of the day. In order for any organization to prosper, stability and trust in needed which according to this article, it does not have in our government so far. This explains the situation we are in and unless this is changed, PNG will still be struggling. As a student and student leader at UPNG, I protested against Somare government and O'Neil government all for the same reasons that we are now labeling against PM James Marape. From this article, two things that stand out for me is the change of attitude from citizens and tougher laws to hold leaders transparent and accountable. Without these, the next PM will be accused more than Peter O'Neil and James Marape.
Change Management Lead and Organisational Learning @ Catalyst Change Consulting | Founder and Director
10 个月Thank you for this political governance information
Safety Professional and Leadership Coach
10 个月Insightful... "Stability vs Accountabily". My take on this is that PNG should never trade Stability for Accountability. Stability is a facade that govts sell to the world abroad... Accountability in uts nature, should bring about stability. Red flag for the future, any govt that decides to change Bill 145 is corrupt in its motives and actions. PNG is ready to introduce a Bill holding all MPs accountable.
Primary Care Physician & Public Health Specialist. (BMedSci, MBBS, MPH).
10 个月Thank you for this. 80% rate of removing a PM (conversely 20% PM success rate of defeating a VONC). The evidence is clear - poor track record of a PM completing a full term (20% success rate). I would be interested to see or know from history (if any research has been done) the number of civil unrest incidents preceding a VONC. How many of the VONC that PNG has had were preceded by incidents of civil unrest?
Terminal Manager - Midstream Operations, Mobil Oil New Guinea LTD
10 个月Only 2 governments saw full terms, out of the 11 Parliaments, still indicates instability of governance not so much government, despite the notion that democratic rights are being exercised through these VONCs and government changes, to remove presumably corrupt governments. It would be interesting to also research how well these full term governments (Somare 2002-2012 & Oneil 2012 -2017), interesting enough, both 10 years apart, have contributed to economic growth and development, compared to the other terms where there were changes in government.