PNG Political System:

Papua New Guinea is a parliamentary democracy governed under the constitution of 1975. The monarch of Great Britain is the head of state and is represented by the governor-general. The government is headed by the prime minister, who is appointed by the governor-general. The unicameral National Parliament consists of 109 members who are popularly elected for five-year terms. Administratively, the country is divided into 20 provinces.

Papua New Guinea had a history of changes in government coalitions and leadership from within Parliament during the five-year intervals between national elections. In 2001 when Sir Mekere Morauta was the then Prime Minister, his government brought in a series of electoral reforms, designed to address instability and corruption. Among the reforms was the introduction of the Limited Preferential Vote system (LPV), a modified version of Alternative vote, for future elections in PNG. (The introduction of LPV was partly in response to calls for changes in the voting system by Transparency International and the European Union.) The first general election to use LPV was held in 2007. New governments are protected by law from votes of no confidence for the first 18 months of their incumbency, and no votes of no confidence may be moved in the 12 months preceding a national election. So far the current government has enjoyed stability for a second consecutive term. The next National General Election is in 2012.

There are many parties, but party allegiances are weak. Winning candidates are usually courted in efforts to forge the majority needed to form a government, and allegiances are fluid. No single party has yet won enough seats to form a government in its own right. For Political Party information click here>>