1982 Papua New Guinean general election

General elections were held in Papua New Guinea between 5 and 26 June 1982.[1] The result was a victory for the Pangu Party, which won 51 of the 109 seats.[1] Voter turnout was 52%.

1982 Papua New Guinean general election
Papua New Guinea
← 1977 5–26 June 1982 1987 →

All 109 seats in the National Parliament
55 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader Seats +/–
Pangu Pati Michael Somare 51 +21
PPP Julius Chan 14 −2
National Party Iambakey Okuk 13 +11
United Party Roy Evera 9 −14
MAP John Momis 8 New
Diro Ted Diro 7 New
Papua Besena Galeva Kwarara 3 −2
Independents 4 −23
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

Campaign

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A total of 1,125 candidates contested the election,[2] of which seventeen were women. Only one, Nahau Rooney, was elected. She had been standing for re-election, as had MPs Waliyato Clowes and Josephine Abaijah, who both lost their seats.[3]

Results

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Following the elections, several elected MPs changed their party affiliation; the Pangu Party gained ten MPs to hold 61 seats and the National Party gained six MPs to hold 19. The People's Progress Party lost a seat, while the Melanesian Alliance lost two and the United Party lost three. All members of the Diro Independents Group left to join other parties, with no MPs left sitting as independents.[4]

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Pangu Pati51+21
National Party13+11
People's Progress Party14–2
United Party9–15
Melanesian Alliance Party8New
Diro Independents Group7New
Papua Besena3–2
Papua Action Party0New
Independents4–23
Total1090
Total votes1,194,114
Registered voters/turnout2,309,62151.70
Source: IPU, Nohlen et al.

Aftermath

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When the newly elected National Parliament met, Michael Somare was elected Prime Minister, defeating John Momis 66–40. Dennis Young was elected Speaker.[5]

Position Member
Prime Minister Michael Somare
Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of National Planning and Development
Minister of Primary Industry
Paias Wingti
Minister of Commerce and Industry Karl Stack
Minister of Correctional Services Pundia Kange
Minister of Culture and Tourism MacKenzie Jovoka
Minister of Decentralisation John Nilkare
Minister of Defence Epel Tito
Minister of Education Barry Holloway
Minister of Environment and Conservation Halalu Mai
Minister of Finance Philip Bouraga
Minister of Foreign Relations and Trade Rabbie Namaliu
Minister of Forests Lukas Waka
Minister of Health Martin Tovadek
Minister of Home Affairs Roy Evara
Minister of Justice Tony Bais
Minister of Labour and Employment Kaspar Angua
Minister of Land Bebes Korowaro
Minister of Media Boyamo Sali
Minister of Minerals and Energy Francis Didman
Minister of Parliamentary Services Pita Lus
Minister of Police John Giheno
Minister of Public Services Anthony Siaguru
Minister of Public Utilities Michael Pondros
Minister of Religion, Youth and Recreation Tom Awasa
Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Matthew Bendumb
Minister of Urban Development Kala Swokim
Minister of Works and Supply Pato Kakarya

References

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  1. ^ a b King, Peter. 1989. “Parties and Outcomes in the 1982 Elections.” In Pangu Returns to Power: The 1982 Elections in Papua New Guinea, edited by Peter King, 1–26. (Canberra: Department of Political and Social Change, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University), pp16–17
  2. ^ Papua New Guinea IPU
  3. ^ Sepoe, Orovu, "To make a difference: Realities of women’s participation in Papua New Guinea politics", Development Bulletin, no. 59, 2002, p.40. (Electronic version Archived 2009-09-13 at the Wayback Machine)
  4. ^ Nohlen et al., p774
  5. ^ "The Chief" regains his leadership after a bitter PNG campaign Pacific Islands Monthly, September 1982, pp15–17