By Ruth Rungula in Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea’s Opposition has filed a notice of a motion for a vote of no-confidence today at its third attempt.
Deputy Opposition Leader Sam Basil delivered the notice to the Speaker’s Office this morning.
He was accompanied by the member for Lae, Loujaya Kouza.
Basil called a media conference immediately after and announced the Opposition’s move to try to oust Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s government.
Basil was hopeful that this notice would succeed after two failed attempts.
The Shadow Attorney General and Member for Rabaul, Dr Alan Marat, explained the process, saying the private business committee of Parliament would meet tomorrow and deliberate on the notice.
If the committee was satisfied, the notice would go before Parliament.
Impending vote
The speaker was expected to give notice on Thursday of the impending vote of no-confidence before Parliament is due to adjourn for a week and resumes for the vote of no-confidence after that.
Dr Marat challenged the government to allow this motion to go through and for it to show its numbers on the floor of Parliament.
He said this was the only opportune time for the country to know whether the people still had confidence for the government or not.
Fourteen MPs signed the no-confidence motion in the 111-seat Parliament, which includes 22 governors from the provinces and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and the National Capital District.
