The Pangu Party led by Prime Minister Michael Somare emerged as the largest in the National Parliament.
Somare subsequently formed a coalition government with the People's Progress Party (PPP) and several independent MPs.
The usual four-year term of the House of Assembly was extended to five years shortly before independence, pushing back elections to the renamed National Parliament from 1976 to mid-1977.
[3] Three women – Nahau Rooney, Waliyato Clowes and Josephine Abaijah – were elected, a number not repeated until 2012.
[4] Nine ministers lost their seats, a number that increased to ten when Reuben Taureka was defeated in the delayed contest in Abau.