Papua New Guinea - Politics - 2002 - Michael Somare
Papua New Guinea cast its ballot for its prime minister 08 May 2002 after a turbulent and sometimes violent six-week election. Michael Somare, who was the island nation's first post-independence prime minister, returned to the job for the third time. Somare's National Alliance Party won the biggest block of seats in Papua New Guinea's Parliament - 19 out of 109 - giving him first right to try to form a government. Somare managed to gain the support of 70 legislators and cobble together a seven-party coalition to govern.
He said returning to the post of prime minister some 27 years after his first term will help bring stability to the troubled nation. "The government's main aim over the next five years will be to create political stability to allow economic reform to take place," he said. In his first address to Parliament Monday, Somare acknowledged the huge challenge he faces in governing a country crippled by debt, dwindling resources, a restless military and other problems such as a rampant AIDS epidemic. "My role as a prime minister today is to facilitate, encourage and use the best expertise on the floor of this Parliament and within the coalition group to bring Papua New Guinea forward," said Somare.
Somare, who is affectionately known simply as "the chief," is a charismatic speaker, known for consensus building and to be above the nation's pervasive political corruption. But having twice been removed as prime minister in votes of no-confidence by a fractious and divided parliament, Somare had his work cut out for him. More than 30 people were killed and tens of thousands of ballot papers were stolen or destroyed during the election period the most violent and chaotic in country's history.
In the elections held in June 2002 results for six seats were invalidated due to violence and electoral fraud. At least 25 people were killed. The final results gave Prime Minister Michael Somare's National Alliance (NA) 19 seats defeating the then ruling People's Democratic Movement (PDM) which took only 12. Somare subsequently formed a coalition government with seven other parties.
Under Somare's fourth government the country managed to come out of the economic slump experienced in previous years. The GDP growth rate had been expected to reach 5.5 percent in 2007. Nevertheless around 40 percent of the population still lived on less than one dollar a day.
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