General elections will be held in Papua New Guinea at some point in or before 2027 to elect members of the National Parliament.[1]
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All 124 seats in the National Parliament 63 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
editAt the previous elections in 2022 the Pangu Pati, led by James Marape, won 39 seats, gaining 30 seats, in a landslide victory. However, no party won a majority of seats, which is common in Papua New Guinean elections.
Electoral system
editThe 124 members of the National Parliament are elected from single-member constituencies by limited instant-runoff voting; voters are given up to three preferences, with a candidate declared elected once they received over 50% of preference votes.[2] Of the 124 members, 102 are elected from "open" seats (increased from 96 in the 2022 elections),[1] with the remainder elected from "provincial" seats based on the twenty provinces, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and the National Capital District. The winners of the provincial seats also become the provincial governor.[3]
Campaign
editAlong with common key issues such as crime, employment and poverty, one specific issue for debate will be the status of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, where 98% of the population voted for independence in a 2019 referendum. Bougainville is expected to achieve independence by 2027 if an agreement is ratified by the National Parliament.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b "New electorates will add to PNG's fiscal pressures". Economist Intelligence Unit. 6 April 2022.
- ^ "Electoral system". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- ^ "July 22 D-day for Papua New Guineans". The National. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ "PNG, B'ville Agree On Latter's Independence". Post Courier. 7 July 2021.