But will Somare return to power?

A Special Correspondent
Papua New Guineans go to the polls on June 30 to elect the 109 members of the one-chamber National Parliament.

As nominations closed on May 4, more than 2740 nominations—90 of that women—had been received from candidates wanting to contest the various seats in the 20 provinces throughout Papua New Guinea.

The number of candidates in the various seats shows all political parties were taking no chances. They want to win as many seats as possible in order to be invited by the Governor-General to form the next government.

It is unlikely Sir Michael Somare will lead the next government even if his National Alliance Party returns to power.

He looks set to retire from politics sometime in 2008 when he achieves 40 uninterrupted years in politics.

His successor will come from any of the four regions that returns the most number of elected members. The regions are Highlands, Islands, Momase and Southern. All four regions are led by four deputy leaders and any of them could be nominated to lead the National Alliance in the new Parliament.

Police Commissioner Gari Baki has assured the government and nation that all security arrangements are in place to ensure smooth elections.

PNG elections always run into problems of one kind or another. But Baki is confident his men, with the support of the Papua New Guinea defence force, will ensure the elections are trouble-free.

Somare’s National Alliance Party is out to ensure many of their rivals do not return as MPs. Most notably is their determination to oust former Treasurer and Lae Open Member, Bart Philemon from his seat.

Philemon has been vocal against government since being sacked as treasurer and later as deputy leader of the National Alliance for the Momase region where Somare also comes from. Provinces in the Momase region are Morobe, where Philemon comes from, Madang and East and West Sepik Provinces.

Philemon said Somare has hated him from the day the former treasurer was appointed back in 2002. He said it was not a surprise that he was sacked because Somare has never acknowledged his efforts to control government expenditure to ensure PNG lived within its means. The tough stance taken Philemon saved the PNG economy from near collapse.

Philemon’s New Generation Party has declared ‘war’ on the National Alliance and, in particular Somare, by taking the fight right to the prime minister’s own village in Krau in East Sepik Province. According to Sepik custom, this is an act of aggression.

Former Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta has joined forces with the New Generation Party to oust Somare’s National Alliance.

In the Highlands, another former Prime Minister and Governor of Western Highlands Province, Paias Wingti, has urged his party supporters to reject the National Alliance.

Lone woman MP, Dame Carol Kidu, is leading the Melanesian Alliance Party to the elections after her party leader, Sir Moi Avei, former deputy prime minister and minister for petroleum and energy, was found guilty of misconduct in office by the Leadership Tribunal.

Melanesian Alliance Party has three MPs in the current parliament—Avei, Kidu and Anderson Vele, Member for Rigo in the Central Province.

Pangu Pati Leader—another former prime minister and now treasurer, Sir Rabbie Namaliu—is confident his party will have enough seats to form the next government.

Polling ends on July 10 with counting to start immediately. The first sitting of the eighth national parliament of PNG should commence early August.