WHP needs political direction

Who is the political head of the Western Highlands province? Nobody is saying. Part of the question will be known today when the Supreme Court hands down its decision on whether or not ousted governor Tom Olga can apply for a review of the National Court decision six weeks ago that voided his election as governor and ordered a by-election. Should it grant Mr Olga his wish, the application for review will be filed and the process will take quite a bit of time. We can safely say a number of months.

If it rejects Mr Olga’s application, then a by-election will be conducted and that will take anywhere between four and six months. Whichever is the case, the position of governor will be vacant and it needs to be filled.Western Highlands, once a thriving province of commerce and industry, is now reduced to a chaotic state and politics has had a big hand in this turn of events.

The present vacuum just adds to the problems besetting the province. With the provincial government headquarters burnt down and now with the province caught in a flood disaster, political direction is crucial. And it is missing. To our mind, it should be a simple matter. The political head of the province should be the Deputy Governor and Member for North Waghi, Benjamin Mul. There is no contest as to his position as deputy governor.

By the operation of the Organic Law he ought to, by right, be the acting governor until such time as a new governor is elected. The law supports our position but the political climate might not particularly, as Mr Mul is a member of the Opposition.

Here are the facts as they stand: In the matter of Election Petition No. 55 of 2007 between Paias Wingti as petitioner and provincial returning officer Kala Rawali, the Electoral Commission of PNG and Tom Olga, Justice David Cannings found the following errors or omissions: * 1,210 ballot papers in Keltiga ballot box No 0386, which the court ordered to be counted, were not located or counted; * 1,877 ballot papers were incorrectly rejected as informal for being initialed on the front; * 511 ballot papers unaccounted for at exclusion No 22;* 46 extra ballot papers were introduced at exclusion No 24; and* 465 ballot papers were miscounted in the final tally in form 66B.

The court also found that Alwynn Jimmy, the person in charge of the recount, was not biased against the third respondent and was not guilty of any illegal practices. Further, as the total number of ballot papers affected by the proven errors or omissions was greater than the winning margin, and substantially so, the error or omissions affected the result of the election and it was open to the court under Section 218 (1) of the Organic Law, to declare that the election be “voided”. Finding so, the court “thought it just and sufficient” to declare that Mr Olga (third respondent) was not duly elected and that the 2007 election was void.

The effect of this decision was that Mr Olga lost his seat and that a by-election be conducted.This decision has been contested by Mr Olga. To our mind, there should be no problem whatsoever with the deputy governor stepping in to perform the duties of the governor in an acting capacity while the matter is sorted out in court or through an election process.A vacancy in the office of the provincial governor is created, according to Section 19 of the Organic Law, if the governor “is dismissed from office … or is appointed a minister or vice-minister … or is otherwise disqualified by law.

In the event of a vacancy, the assembly shall appoint another MP from the province to be governor. The law is quite clear that the deputy governor “shall be politically responsible to the provincial assembly for the overall development and good government of the province …”

This, in no way, means that the deputy governor, in this case, Mr Mul, takes over the duties and responsibilities on a permanent basis. Mr Mul is there, as caretaker, until the provincial assembly meets to elect a governor or until the court makes its decision on the appeal before it, or until the province elects a new governor in a by-election. Western Highlands is presently inundated with problems such as natural disasters and a general breakdown in law and order. Political direction is crucial at this time.

*** Further information on Western Highlands Province's status, click here