Comments

Interesting to know all this and big thanks to you Michael. I really don't know much about politics but one thing I see not right is how where the decision is made without proper protocols being followed. Why was James Marape nominated as Prime Minister and Pruaitch argued that Peter O'Neill's withdrawal after the nomination was closed was in violation of Parliamentary Standing Orders and sought a Supreme Court interpretation of the legality of the prime minister's election. Whose mistake was this? Likewise we see the same situation with Namah's appointment as the opposition leader challenged. Do we have protocols misplaced? Were these protocols made clear before vote of no confidence been in process? Who made the decision for Marape to be Prime Minister without consulting the standing orders?

No. PNGEC only runs elections for universities/unions etc upon request. (The benefit of PNGEC running the elections is that the people get to know how the system works in elections. Invalid ballots is still a big problem during elections in PNG.)

Hi Alois, yes the sample size (160) is very small. It may not give us the views of majority of UPNG students, but it does give us the views of 160 students. Because the students are getting ready for exams (some are sitting for their exams this week) I kept the survey open for just a week.

Thank you for the article, If it was not for the Pandemic, the agenda of the December Meeting of PIF (Virtual) would have been no doubt more substantial. PIF has no issue with its own relevance, quite the contrary. The December Meeting is chiefly to appoint the next SG, a position which becomes vacant in January. It is the most important agenda item. I do not believe it is correct that "as a general rule, Fiji is disqualified from holding the position as it hosts the Forum Secretariat". It is however true to say that Fiji has been circumspect over the years in putting forward a candidate and has stepped back in the interest of regional solidarity, although it has had qualified candidates. This year, Fiji has decided that it possibly has the best candidate in Ratu Inoke Kubuabola to lead the Forum in its most challenging period, with regional PICs suffering the challenges of a post COVID recovery, securing the well-being of the Blue Pacific, and of course to manage the present state of the increasing and competitive geopolitical interests in the region. Ratu Inoke has the singular reputation of leading Fiji internationally as its Foreign Minister from almost an international pariah state to a position of international leadership positions. He would bring his enormous skill and experience for the job. Sub-regional rotation is always a factor to be considered but the region has always opted for merit as the primary principle. It has never adhered firmly to rotation in the past as the primary factor, as can be seen from the nationalities of former SGs, with Melanesia twice (both from PNG), Polynesia 4 times and Micronesia once (Kiribati). Fiji is committed to preserving the integrity of the PIF membership. I am confident that the Pacific Way will prevail in choosing the candidate of best on merit once again.

An interesting piece Michael Kabuni, I wonder if the same restrictions or requirements could possibly be applied to our leaders in parliament, especially where intellectual capacity is concerned.

Is it always compulsory for electral commission to run elections in the tertiary institutions?

In my opinion, the criteria used was discriminating, defeating the purpose of the Electoral Commission's motto promoting fair and free election. Was UPNG SRC elections fair and free. My take is it was free but not fair. More importantly, I believe it's against specific sections of the Constitution. Because of the laws governing the Electoral Commission's does not have harsh and oppressive criteria, such as you have to obtain a bachelor's degree and work for 10 years to stand for elections. UPNG SRC need leaders not academics. An organization may have highly intelligent employees but without a leader, it's like a flock of lions led by a sheep. That is why, executive positions in organisations stress on leadership rather than brilliance. UPNG needs leaders! My Take.

Hi Micheal, This blog survey conducted was very informative and thank you for publishing. 1. Out of 160 students take part in the survey, it will be more better to take 3/4 of students in the survey. This will determine the true outcome of the election survey. 2. In practical PNG politics, voters are not educated to understand set of policies from their intending candidate unlike the outcome of UPNG SRC election, many students (voters) voted based on policies because they are educated at some level. I hope UPNG students should do more awareness to the people to understand policies and how it works. 3. UPNG management should refine and repeal the SRC Constitution purposely to SRC limit power for external politics. They must be SRC regulation to govern the SRC Executive conduct and ethics including its functions. 4. President is from SMHS and he must be stationed at UPNG Waigani campus because it is close to UPNG Management for decision making. Also, many students are leaving on Waigani campus he should be attentive to their daily activities. Overall, my points 2, 3 and 4 are based on my own observation during my term as UPNG SRC Representative for NGI in 2016.

Hi Amanda, The SRC election for the University of Technology was conducted by PNG electoral commission office in Lae. PNGEC has offices in every province, but I’m not sure whether they are engaged to run the SRC elections in other institutions. According to people I spoke to, PNGEC only conducts elections like this upon formal request from the institutions. According to responses I got from the survey, the students believe that with the SRC in place, they believe their views/concerns can now be raised through SRC. Some thing there is gap between the UPNG administration and student body because there was no SRC. I couldn’t talk about all the responses from students due to the word limit, but there were some interesting comments from students.

Hi Richard, your question is answered in the graph (figure). Some students did say being friends with the candidate determined how they voted/which preference they used to vote. According to the survey, being friends with the candidate was not the main determinant. But because the sample size (160) is small, I cannot confidently say what the graph shows is an accurate representation of how students voted.

Thank you Mr Kabuni for this well written article. The recent hectic mobilizations election of the SRC at the university have demonstrated the capacity of students, especially young people to organize, communicate, exercise, influence, and to act as a positive force at a time of defining change wrought by COVID-19 and the cancellation of the provincial association and regionalism at the university. To make a difference in the future, it is important that young people are engaged in formal political processes like the election of SRC and have a say at the university in formulating today and tomorrow. Inclusive participation is not only a fundamental political and democratic right but also is crucial to building stable and peaceful societies and developing policies that respond to the specific needs of younger generations at the university level.

Thank you Mr Kabuni for this very interesting blog post. It is heartening to know that student representation is returning to the University of Papua New Guinea. I would be interested to know whether students will be able to share their views and suggestions with university management. Are there any formal processes that will be in place next year for this to occur? Also, I am curious to know whether the PNG Electoral Commission runs voting for student bodies on other university campuses around the country. Do you know if that is the case? Thanks again, Amanda