Elections and politics

In this chapter we provide an overview of electoral and parliamentary politics in Papua New Guinea (PNG). We cover electoral quality and trends. We examine voter choices. And we study the dynamics of parliamentary politics. As we do this, we pay particular attention to the challenges faced by female candidates. We also look for evidence of improvements stemming from the two most significant changes to post-independence electoral and political rules in PNG: the introduction of limited preferential voting and the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates. Little evidence exists that these rule changes have brought improvements. At present, many challenges plague electoral politics and political governance in PNG. Yet there are some signs of potentially positive social changes. There are also good grounds to believe that other rule changes, such as the proposed introduction of Temporary Special Measures to ensure women's representation, can help.