Prime Minister, James Marape declared last night in a media statement that he would not resign from his position despite the recent defection of Pangu Pati and Government MPs to the Opposition.
He emphasised that any change in leadership must occur through a no-confidence
vote.
PM Marape has urged the people of Papua New Guinea and the business community to continue their daily activities without disruption as the political process unfolds.
“Pangu has 41 MPs as of today, and with our Coalition partners, we have more than the required 56 MPs to remain in Government,” Marape stated.
“As I speak, our Coalition partners, including United Resources Party, Social Democratic Party, People’s Party, People’s First Party, People’s Movement for Change, Melanesian Liberal Front, and Melanesian Alliance, are intact.”
He further elaborated, “The number of MPs, with the combination of Coalition partners and Pangu, exceeds the magic number of 56. We are confident with our numbers and are putting together our team as we prepare for Parliament on Tuesday, May 28.”
Prime Minister Marape reassured the nation: “I want to assure the country that we’ve tried our absolute best over the last five years. James Marape is certainly not resigning from office. Those who don’t have faith in my leadership are welcome to support their alternate prime ministerial candidate. Deploy the process required by Standing Orders and our Constitution, and we go through the process of a vote-of-no-confidence. That’s the process of law, and no one is running away from this requirement. Leaders will then exercise their roles and responsibilities by voting for a leader who they feel is appropriate at this point in time to lead the country into the future.”
The Prime Minister appealed once more to the citizens and business community to maintain their routines.
“Continue to work as usual,” he urged. “I appeal to our people, investors, and business houses not to be deterred. “We’ve had changes of government in our 49 years of independence through votes-of-noconfidence and general elections, and never has the country shifted the goal post away from being democratic.”