IElections in Papua New Guinea are extremely volatile and dangerous. But this year’s elections have included violence, intimidation, corruption as well as administrative incompetence in what looks like an extraordinary scale.
The Commonwealth Observer team has called for an immediate review of the electoral process at the grassroots, noting that nearly half of eligible voters have been denied the right to vote.
Yet the response of the Australian government – like that of the international community as a whole – has been muted, as during the last elections in 2017.
The dominant narrative is that this wildfire of violence is somewhat odd, that things will soon return to normal, and that the work of the government will resume. But is this a lie we have chosen to believe for too long?
Election-related violence has come under fire in various parts of the country in the past few weeks. Counting centers in two districts of Morobe province have been attacked, Voters in Eastern Sepik and Hela Province destroyed ballot boxes and set ballots on fire. Gunmen killed 18 people during voting in Anga province. The murders and arson cases are in addition to widespread reports of electoral chaos, money politics, ballot boxes being “hijacked” by candidates and their supporters, and investigators harassing and obstructing their work.
Speaking in a public forum on Thursday, Dame Meg Taylor, a senior PNG leader, told a story of women in a village in the Highlands who got up early to vote, waiting patiently at polling stations hours before officials arrived. Was being They moved quickly so as to vote safely and without intimidating the crowd, but even these precautions failed as they were chased by a group of armed youths.
The political leaders of the country do not seem to be taking it seriously. The country’s acting prime minister, James Marape, held a press conference earlier in the week, where he referred to “unrest” and “unrest”, instead of accepting what it was – uncontrolled rioting, rampant violence, bodies being dumped. Reports, photographs circulated, number of rape victims, vehicles attacked by mobs of juveniles, etc. In a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Marape said he was “on top of these issues”.
Citizens of Papua New Guinea are expressing deep sorrow at what this violence is revealing about the state of democracy and the rise of tribalism and patriarchy in their country. Some are concluding that a critical point has been reached, a point of violence and insecurity that was unimaginable when the country celebrated its independence nearly 50 years ago.
The violence associated with these elections is deeply linked to the country’s institutions of governance. Last week, the police commissioner found that the candidates themselves were responsible for instigating the election violence in Enga. He observed that it is a “disease” that violence stems from highly educated members of the community.
We write these sentences with sadness. We are Australian and have a long standing interest in PNG. We have great respect for the Melanesian approach to governance. We have written about the resilience of Melanesian social structures to overcome the shortcomings of its often hollow and sluggish state institutions. In our own work, we have highlighted the innovative and difficult ways in which struggling bureaucrats and administrators in public institutions keep running despite increasing resource constraints.
But we also know that what is happening is a manifestation of problems that are clearly hidden. This violence is the result of the failures of many systems of governance over the years to adequately provide basic services and administration.
The events of the past weeks have forced us to ask the uncomfortable question: Have PNG’s governance institutions so decimated, and people’s trust and respect lost so much that people feel they have matters in their own hands? Have no choice but to take it? Has it reached the point where the losing candidate will send his supporters to the brink of further destruction? What does this say about the future of democracy in PNG?
There is a danger that political violence will be used by new leaders to justify a more repressive response on the part of the state, leading to dangerous cycles of escalation. It should be opposed.
It is important that Australian leaders engage seriously with the events of the past few weeks, and speak openly about any new leaders that emerge. The actual levels of voting rights of the population should not be overlooked. A new electoral system is urgently needed. It should be one that both accounts for the entire population – the last census was done in 2011 – and that creates a guaranteed place for women in the political system.
Many other changes are needed to rebuild or rebuild the broken systems of education, health and justice which are slowly disappearing. It will be a long process, but there is a huge risk that it will not even begin until courageous leaders both inside and outside PNG acknowledge what is currently happening.
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Miranda Forsyth is Professor in the School of Regulation and Global Governance in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University
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Gordon Peak is an associate in the Center for Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Studies at Georgetown University