Election fee hike challenged

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Papua New Guinea’s parliamentary opposition is to challenge the government’s proposal to increase the nomination fee in the Supreme Court if passed.

When delivering its Budget this week, the government said it was planning to hike the national election nomination fee ten fold to 10,000 kina or US$3150 per candidate.

That reflects a 10-fold increase in the fee.

Opposition Leader Don Polye said they would take the matter to the court if the government used its numerical strength to bulldoze the fee hike through parliament.

He said that given US$125 million was earmarked for the 2017 National Election in the budget, there are questions why Prime Minister Peter O’Neill is proposing the dramatic fee hike.

O’Neill signalled the planned fee hike was to offset a lack of funds for the Electoral Commission ahead of the polls

“The cost keeps on going up because the number of candidates are increasing,” O’Neill said.

“So if candidates want to run for public office, there must be certain sacrifices we all have to make. And one of them is cost.”

O’Neill says money from the increased election fees will go to the Electoral Commission help it conduct the election exercise

“The increase was not intended to marginalise candidates but for proper running of the elections in general,” he said.

But Polye has described the move as an “unconstitutional and draconian law to cripple a certain group of people”.

He said the proposal would deny the rights of many citizens to contest the election next year, adding it will limit vast majority of aspiring candidates to contest the 111 seats in the country.

He brushed aside O’Neill’s justification that the increase is to offset a lack of funding for the Electoral Commission, saying it is a laughing stock.

- PNC sources