Politics of Papua New Guinea

The politics of Papua New Guinea takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic multi-party system, whereby the prime minister is the head of government.

The governments of Papua New Guinea are characterized by weak political parties and highly unstable parliamentary coalitions.

The governor general appoints the chief justice of the supreme court on the advice of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (based in the United Kingdom) serves as the highest appellate court.

On Bougainville Island, initially focused on traditional land rights, environmental and economic issues stemming from the operation of the Panguna mine, (a Conzinc RioTinto Australia (now Rio Tinto Limited) and PNG government joint venture), a civil war quickly grew into a war for independence from PNG.

(The introduction of LPV was partly in response to calls for changes in the voting system by Transparency International and the European Union.)

Winning candidates are usually courted in efforts to forge the majority needed to form a government, and allegiances are fluid.

[2] Papua New Guinea has a history of changes in government coalitions and leadership from within Parliament during the five-year intervals between national elections.

On Bougainville Island, a rebellion occurred from early 1989 until a truce came into effect in October 1997 and a permanent cease-fire was signed in April 1998.

Supplementary elections were held in Southern Highlands province in June 2003 after record levels of electoral fraud and intimidation during the 2002 polls.

A study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, entitled "Strengthening our neighbour: Australia and the future of Papua New Guinea" and published in December 2004 found that PNG's weak government and policing has allowed organized crime gangs to relocate from Southeast Asia in recent years.

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