The headlines variously read “O’Neill ‘invited’ to form government”, “O’Neill gets tap to form government” and “People’s National Congress invited to form PNG government“.

Naive headlines that gave a hint of legitimacy and respectability to what occurred in Papua New Guinea yesterday.

But the day had witnessed the most breathtaking ploy yet in what has been a national election liberally laced with fraud, deceit, bribery, violence and manipulation.

With counting in 23 of the 111 seats still incomplete, Electoral Commissioner Patilias Gamato – already under a cloud for his conduct of the election – advised the Governor-General that Peter O’Neill’s People’s National Congress commanded enough seats to form a government – a palpable lie.

By Friday afternoon PNC had won only one-quarter of the seats declared.

“I certify that the People’s National Congress party has won the largest number of declared seats in the 2017 national election, Your Excellency,” Gamato said, “accordingly I advise that you call on the public officer of the PNC to receive the invitation on behalf of the party.”

As political commentator and prominent blogger Martyn Namorong tweeted: “We’ve essentially witnessed a coup unfold in Port Moresby this afternoon.”

A ‘coup’ to be tested
Of course it was a “coup” that will have to be tested in Parliament – should it be recalled – but the very fact that O’Neill can wear the prime ministerial badge during the period when loyalties are being tested is a ploy to drag wavering members-elect to the PNC and so attempt to consolidate its numbers on the floor of the house.

With the numbers seeming to be very close between the PNC coalition and its newly invigorated and numerically stronger opposition, every vote is important.

But nothing in conventional politics explains what has been O’Neill’s breathtaking attempt to steal an election that was apparently slipping out of his grasp.

Parliament is due to sit next Friday for the formation of government and it has yet to be seen whether a prime minister who has dishonoured many of the conventions and protocols so far will honour one of the most important of all, the ability of an elected Parliament to freely determine who shall govern the country.

“We’re look forward to forming government in the coming days and we believe the PNC has been given a mandate under the laws of this country governing the electoral process,” O’Neill told a media conference.

Electoral Commissioner Gamato, whose performance in this election has been appalling, professed that it was “unfortunate” that so many seats were undeclared.

Meanwhile, the PNG Ombudsman Michael Dick made an heroic effort to preserve democratic values by filing an urgent application for the extension of writs, which the courts granted until Monday.

Registrar outraged
At the time of writing it was uncertain whether the government would comply.

An outraged Registrar of Political Parties, Alphonse Gelu, also called for an extension of time for the return of writs.

But it seemed all in vain; the Governor-General, Sir Bob Dadae, was entertaining Prime Minister O’Neill and besuited cohorts William Duma and Powes Parkop and sharing a glass of celebratory orange juice with them (see top picture).

At the same time, reports SBS’s Stefan Armbruster, violent post-election clashes and gun battles continued in Duma’s backyard in the Highlands and there was an attempted kidnapping of a candidate at gunpoint at Port Moresby international airport by alleged PNC elements.

Mt Hagen is in lockdown and local media have posted footage showing crowds of people fleeing gunfire in the streets. Tensions escalated as results were progressively declared and challenged, Armbruster reported.

While O’Neill was having his faux government sworn in, the growing Alliance of parties  determined to remove him from power said it was confident it would have the support of enough MPs to form a new government next week.

The coalition includes the next two biggest parties after PNC, National Alliance and Pangu Pati.

Radio New Zealand International said it was unclear how many of the remaining MPs-elect to be declared would attend the crucial first sitting of Parliament.

In Canberra, Australia’s foreign minister Julie Bishop refused to say whether she considered the election free and fair until after “final reports” from four Australian parliamentarians who observed the poll, according to PNG commentators in circumstances that would have left them without much idea of what had transpired.

But Ms Bishop admitted that “Australia provided extensive technical advice and logistical support to PNG’s election authorities”. This included assistance in compiling the catastrophically inadequate and criminally rorted common roll.

Beyond that, there was no substantive comment other than an unintentionally ironic “we will continue to work with PNG to help strengthen its electoral system.”

As Australian reader David Harley‏ tweeted, “Hey @JulieBishopMP how long are we going to ignore these goings on to our north?”

• PNG Ombudsman wins court order
• More PNG election stories

Feelings of “anticipation, excitement” first gripped Papua New Guinea as polling opened last month.

Auckland University of Technology doctoral candidate Stephanie Tapungu and her husband Kenneth told PMW’s weekly Southern Cross radio programme on 95bFM that rising female representation and online engagement were a source of hope.

The PNG Electoral Commission reports the number of female candidates standing in the two-week election beginning on June 24 comprised 165 of the total 3332 candidates.

The only province that did not register a female candidate is West New Britain.

Kenneth Tapungu told Southern Cross:

“There’s been a rise in women’s numbers, candidates, and this has in a way really changed the dynamic of the game itself and this has really challenged the existing status quo of elections and campaigns.”

But the anticipation and excitement was short-lived and quickly descended into condemnation of the state of the electoral common roll as thousands reported they had not been listed, despite registration, and also disruptions as reported a week later on PMW’s Southern Cross.

Ballot paper chaos
In Lae, students set fire to ballot papers in protest, while others at Unitech missed out on voting as only 1100 ballot papers arrived for a voting population of 5000.

Similar stories were echoed across Papua New Guinea as 4000 to 5000 students in Goroka were denied the chance to cast a ballot.

At the University of Papua New Guinea, voting again did not take place due to a lack of ballots.

Only 1200 ballot papers arrived from the Electoral Commission instead of the expected 5000.

Allegations of corruption, calls for resignations, and fears of a dictatorship soon emerged, even as Prime Minister O’Neill shrugged off polling chaos.

He told EMTV News the 2017 elections were a “dramatic change” from the previous three due an apparent lack of violence and no “hijacked” electoral process.

“I hear comment from election observers that delays like this are common in developing country elections, particularly with remote and rugged terrain and diverse cultures,” O’Neill said.

Fears of dictatorship
But O’Neill’s comments did nothing to dissuade Gary Juffa, Oro’s current governor and an opposition candidate in the elections, from expressing his fears Papua New Guinea was heading for a dictatorship.

“We are inching closer to dictatorship and ensuing bloodshed and violence that must come from the hostility towards it. But like lemmings and sheep, we are led to that reality with little resistance at all. Is this the Papua New Guinea we all believed in once upon a time?”

Juffa claimed the elections have been rigged – “deliberately set to fail” – due to fraud and issues at the polls.

Peter S. Kinjap reported for Asia Pacific Report that rival Ialibu candidates had also accused O’Neill of “rigging” the elections “from the start”.

The plethora of missing voter details across Papua New Guinea, despite concerted efforts made to update them, was further evidence of the country’s fall from democracy, Juffa said.

“This will mean that democracy certainly did not prevail in this instance. In fact, many will probably agree that come the end of these elections, democracy was hardly a reality everywhere in Papua New Guinea.”

PNG Attitude’s Keith Jackson said recent developments mean the international election observer team are “duty bound to investigate when reaching their conclusion on whether this election has been free and fair and provided a just result”.

Election disruptions, problems
Enga’s vote being deferred amid election disruptions and polling problems were some of the developments called to mind, he said.

Also amidst all of the chaos at the polls Electoral Commissioner Patilias Gamato told reporters he would not resign in his quest to ensure the general election is “run smoothly”.

A day after Gamato’s statement, four senior election officers were arrested for carrying K185,000 (NZD$80,000) in cash and suspicious documents, cancelling Port Moresby’s one-day polling.

There are also fears the elections could be deemed a failure, Kenneth Tapungu told Asia Pacific Report yesterday.

He says Prime Minister O’Neill voted in his village – Kauwo, in Pangia Southern Highlands province – on a Sunday, which contravenes the country’s constitution.

Stephanie Tapungu, whose countenance was positive as polling opened, now reflects:

“The elections were planned to be a failure from the start. It started out positive, but so much happened – from ballot boxes being lost and mix ups, to deferral of counting and polling, and the suspension of election managers. This election was just full of drama.”

• More PNG election stories

Papua New Guinea has long luxuriated in the bright light of the soubriquet, “Land of the Unexpected’, but this 2017 general election has exceeded all of those unexpectations.

Here are some of the more recent developments that the unfortunates on the international election observer team (already once verballed into seemingly endorsing the poll) are duty bound to investigate when reaching their conclusion on whether this election has been free and fair and provided a just result.

Enga vote deferred amid new election disruptions (Peter Kinjap – Asia Pacific Report): Polling in Enga was deferred as the majority of candidates raised grievances and electoral roll problems again surfaced. All MPs except those loyal to Peter O’Neill’s government said election manager Anton Yamau “must not hold Enga people in ransom”.

Gamato must not declare Ialibu-Pangia first (Sir Mekere Morauta, Kerenga Kua, Patrick Pruaitch, Ben Micah and Sam Basil – Joint Media Statement): Electoral Commissioner Patilias Gamato must not further undermine the integrity of the national election by declaring Peter O’Neill’s Ialibu-Pangia seat ahead of other seats. Doing so would send a clear signal to Papua New Guineans that election manipulation is continuing with the aim of forming a PNC-led government. The declaration of Ialibu-Pangia first in the 2012 election undoubtedly gave an advantage to PNC candidates in seats where voting was continuing. There must not be a repeat.

Vital initiatives to be taken to improve electoral roll (Matthew Vari – PNG Post-Courier): Electoral Commissioner Gamato said negotiations would begin with a new PNG government to undergo the vital initiatives to improve the electoral roll. He said the Electoral Commission operated like any government institution with budgetary constraints. “We requested a higher allocation of funds than that which was provided to us, but we must now work within our financial limits. We will persevere and continue to manage this election, despite these challenges,” Gamato said.

PM removed police unit trying to stop election fraud (PNG Blogs): Peter O’Neill intervened in the election process in Pangia after he told Police Commissioner Gary Baki to remove a mobile police unit from Wabag where it was tasked in looking after ballot boxes for Pangia. The unit had a confrontation with one of the prime minister’s bodyguards after a polling official removed scrutineers who were not supporting the prime minister. The bodyguard made a call to the PM who demanded the unit be removed from Pangia.

Polling area at University of PNG campus in Port Moresby – University students’ names not on PNG electoral roll (Radio New Zealand International): Many University of Papua New Guinea students are among those denied a chance to vote in this year’s election. Student Gerald Tulu Manu-Peni said he made sure his name was on the roll in March, but found his name missing when he and others in the National Capital District went to vote last Friday. Manu-Peni said at least a couple thousand student voters missed out on voting. “Not only students at the university but all around the country this is the same problem going on, so it seems that there is really something wrong somewhere,” he explained.

Armed attack in Hela to destroy ballot boxes (Malum Nalu & James Gumuno – The National): Armed men have attempted to destroy ballot boxes stored in containers at Tari police station. Assistant Police Commissioner Kaiglo Ambane said candidates and their supporters armed with high-powered guns exchanged fire with members of the security task force guarding the boxes. The security forces held their ground, forcing the armed men to retreat after around 30 minutes of fighting. “There are no casualties from the security forces. I do not know about the candidates and their supporters,” he said.

Police commander seeks permission to arrest candidates (Helen Tarawa – The National): Northern police commander Chief Inspector Lincoln Gerari is seeking approval from Police Commissioner Gari Baki to arrest two candidates for alleged bribery and discharging a firearm in public. Gerari said only Baki could give approval for the arrest of candidates during the elections. He said there was a direction from Baki not to carry out any arrests until after polling.

PNG election ‘progressing well’ despite polling problems (Liam Fox – ABC): Elections are progressing well despite thousands of people being prevented from voting, electoral commissioner Patilias Gamato says. He said the election could not be declared a failure. But just over halfway into the two-week polling period, thousands of voters are crying foul after being told their names were not on the electoral roll. Others have been prevented from voting because of a lack of ballot papers at some polling booths. Despite the problems, Gamato said voting was “progressing well” and would be completed on time in most electorates.

• More PNG election stories

That was one strange weekend Malcolm Turnbull just spent in Papua New Guinea on his first official visit, even if at first glance the running sheet looked typical enough.

The usual Aussie-prime-minister-in-PNG schedule was dusted off trotting out a tête-à-tête with the PNG PM, a Bomana-Kokoda experience and a business breakfast dominated by expats. Nothing new there.

But otherwise there were some bizarre deviations, including a mix-up which left the PNG media believing it hadn’t been invited to a Turnbull press conference.

As ABC PNG correspondent Erik Tlozek put it in a Facebook post:

“I am disappointed and embarrassed that my PNG media colleagues felt they were not allowed to attend this morning’s press conference with Malcolm Turnbull at Bomana.

“If Australia wants to show that its government is open to media scrutiny, surely it should welcome journalists to a presser held in their own country.”

Later SBS journalist Stefan Armbruster added to this by tweeting:

“Hear from sources [that] PNG journalists excluded from Turnbull presser post-Kokoda wreath-laying. [They] were told it’s an ‘Australian thing’.”

An Australian thing?

This was later rendered by New Zealand journalist Michael Field as:

“Some Australian journos now using Facebook to say sorry for the Whites-Only press briefing Turnbull had in PNG: Melanesians journos were excluded”

– not quite on the money but an understandable interpretation.

The Australian High Commission in PNG later apologised for what was described as

“a misunderstanding”.

As Radio New Zealand International’s Johnny Blades reported,

“the fact that only Australian journalists had access to Mr Turnbull during this leg says a lot about how Canberra conducts its business in PNG.”

Manus asylum seekers
Turnbull further raised the ire of Papua New Guineans and refugee support groups by sidling away from one of the key issues in the Australia-PNG relationship – the future of asylum seekers stranded on Manus Island.

He didn’t address the issue front on, preferring to use the evasive words, “one step at a time.”

This prompted Manus MP Ron Knight to tweet: “He hasn’t even the courtesy of meeting the Manus leaders or coming here to see himself the problem. No respect.”

Turnbull’s Immigration Minister Peter Dutton was not as reticent as his boss, airily telling PNG the refugees were its problem, not Australia’s,

This provoked a sharp rebuff from Transparency PNG’s gritty chairman Lawrence Stephens: “You haul people illegally into PNG. Now they become PNG’s problem? Come on!”

Dutton doubled down with what read like a “stuff you PNG” statement: “We’ll be withdrawing the assets from Manus Island. We are not going to have a detention centre there for other uses. We’re not going to have facilities being used or repurposed. The centre will be dismantled.”

So there, PNG. We’ll trash all the stuff we gave you and go home.

Turnbull had earlier run into criticism about the timing of his trip from former PNG prime minister Sir Mekere Morauta.

‘Dangerous position’
Morauta said Turnbull had placed himself in a “dangerous position”, especially “with the prospect of a new government just around the corner”.

Turnbull dismissed the complaint, saying the timing of his visit was “entirely unrelated” to any domestic political events in PNG and that the election was a matter for the people of PNG “absolutely”.

Before departing Port Moresby for India, Turnbull also was forced to deflect questions about Papua New Guinea’s poor economic performance.

Asked if it was a concern to Australia that the PNG government was “broke”, Turnbull said this was a matter for the PNG government.

Not entirely the case, though, as just a couple of weeks ago Australia effectively refused to bail out PNG who had asked that the half billion dollars of tied Australian aid be used instead to prop up its budget.

Australia had said no.

Oh, and a footnote to that business breakfast with Malcolm Turnbull. Christine Aiwa – executive assistant to the managing director of the Post-Courier – paid K900 for four senior journalists to attend.

“But the waiters were instructed not to serve our journalists any breakfast; one was only given an orange juice,” she wrote on Facebook.

“That’s discriminating. I will not stop until I get the full refund of K900 back, and I want an apology.”

It was, all in all, quite a weekend.

Keith Jackson blogs at PNG Attitude where this column was first published. It is republished with the permission of the author.