by Tusi Tala, Staff Writer
The Speaker of the Papua New Guinea Parliament, Job Pomat, has declared in a parliamentary session that he has received and accepted a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister James Marape.
The opposition has been attempting to submit this motion since February, marking this as their fifth effort since the grace period that shields governments from such challenges expired.
According to the Post-Courier, Rainbo Paita, the MP for Finschaffen and a former key ally of Marape, is the opposition’s preferred candidate to lead any new government that may form.
Current opposition leader Douglas Tomuriesa filed the motion with support from fellow opposition members, including Kerenga Kua, Keith Iduhu, Sir Puka Temu, Francis Alua, James Donald, Rufina Peter, Robert Naguri, and Bryan Kramer.
The motion will be reviewed by the Private Business Committee, chaired by Pomat. This committee is meeting today, and the Post-Courier indicates that Pomat is expected to announce the results of that meeting tomorrow.
Notably, the committee includes only one opposition member, Gulf Governor Sir Chris Haiveta, who recently switched sides to join the opposition.
