Edited by David Hegarty University of Papua New Guinea Press, 1983. ELECTORAL POLITICS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA: STUDIES ON THE 1977 NATIONAL ELECTIONS David Hegarty (Editor) UNIVERSITY OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA PRESS © David Hegarty 1983 First published in Papua New Guinea, 1983 Printed in Hong Kong by Colorcraft Ltd. 204 Tsat Tse Mui Road North Point, for the University of Papua New Guinea Press. Hegarty, David 1. Papua New Guinea - elections I. title ISBN 9980-84-3 CONTENTS Preface vi 1. The 1977 national elections in Papua New Guinea - an overview 1 2. Parties and the elections: a case study of the Moresby North-east 18 Open electorate Ralph R. Premdas and Jeffrey S. Steeves 3. Secessionists versus central authority: Papua Besena in the 38 elections Ralph R. Premdas and Jeffrey S. Steeves 4. On the Periphery: North Fly Open Richard Jackson 61 5. "They want to be the highest always": the elections in Simbu 75 Bill Standish 6. Coffee, class and politics: the elections in the Eastern Highlands 123 Mike Donaldson and Ken Good 7. The village perspective: voter decision-making in a Tairora village, 140 Obura-Wonenara Open B. Goode 8. Local alliances and politics: Kainantu Open G.D. Westermark 161 9. Shaping a political arena: the elections in the Southern Highlands 174 J.A. Ballard 10. "Signs of development?": Nipa-Kutubu Open Paul Sillitoe 196 11. The Lae Open electorate: "Union na pati-senis i no kamap" 216 Bob Adams 12. The elections in Finschhafen and Kabwum 228 Melone Wamma and Don Townsend 13. East Sepik: issues, parties and personalities Kwasi Nyamekye 240 14. Yangoru-Saussia Open: the disappearance of an 83 per cent 255 majority Bob Winnett and R.J. May 15. Kavieng Open: wantoks and associations Ngen Isana 268 16. Island politics: the elections in Manus Wes Rooney 273 MAPS 1977 National Electorates viii Highlands Electorates ix North Fly Open: Population 69 Chimbu Province 78 Chimbu Electorates: Provincial Candidates' Home Locations 93 Obura - Wonenara Open 141 ___ : Languages 143 ___ : Residence of Candidates 144 Nipa-Kutubu Open 197 Finschhaf en and Kabwum: Electorates and Census Divisions 229 ___ : Communications 235 Yangoru-Saussia Open 253 FIGURES Chapter 5 (Simbu) 1. Prices at Different Stages of Coffee Processing: PNG Averages, 1973-77 83 iii 2. Annual Cycle: Parchment Coffee Sales 84 3. Estimated Beer Sales 85 TABLES Chapter 1 (Introduction) Table 1. Export Commodity Prices in PNG Currency 3 2. Vote for the Prime Ministership, 1977 10 3. Party Strengths in New Parliament 1 O 4. Government - Opposition support by Parties 11 Chapter 2 (Moresby North-East) Table 1. Ethnic and Class Breakdown of Port Moresby Communities 25 2. Election Results 33 3. Polling Booth Results 34 4. 1978 By-Election Results 36 Chapter 3 (Papua Besena) Table 1. Moresby South: Polling Booth Results 48 2. Moresby North-West: Polling Booth Results 50 3. Moresby North-East: Polling Booth Results 53 4. National Capital District Results 55 Chapter 4 (North Fly) Table 1. Electors by Tribal Group 68 2. The Results 72 Chapter 5 (Simbu) Table 1. Candidates in Elections, 1972 and 1977 96 2. Provincial Election, 1977: Interim Count by Open Electorate 111 Chapter 6 (Eastern Highlands) Table 1. Councillors in the Elections 133 2. Electoral Success of Interim Provincial Government Members 135 3. Candidates by Class and Political Party Affiliation 136 4. Candidates' Class Position and Votes Received 136 5. Distribution of Candidate Sample by Electorates. 138 Chapter 7 ( Obura Wonenara) Table 1. Description of Candidates 146 2. Voting in Tairora Census Division 152 3. Votes Received by Census Division 154 4. Votes Received by Census Division: Eastern Highlands Provincial Electorate 157 Chapter 8 (Kainantu) Table 1. Ballot Box Breakdown 168 iv Chapter 9 (Southern Highlands) Table 1. Results. I76 Chapter 10 (Nipa Kutubu) Table I. Opinion Survey on the Duties of a Member 200 2. Opinion Survey on Development 200 3. Provincial Candidates' Support within Nipa - Kutubu Open 205 4. Results 208 5. Electors' Reasons for Supporting Candidates 210 Chapter I2 (Finschhafen and Kabwum) Table I. Results in Finschhafen, Kabwum and Tewae - Siassi Open Electorates 237 Chapter I 3 (East Sepik) Table I. Results 24I Chapter I 4 ( Ya ngoru-Saussia) Table I. Results 264 Chapter I 5 (Kavieng) Table I. Results 27 I Chapter I 6 (Manus) Table I. I Manus Open: Candidate Characteristics 279 1.2 ___ : Distribution of Votes by Location 280 1.3 ___ : Percentage of Votes Derived from Home/Urban Areas 282 2. I Manus Provincial: Candidate Characteristics 283 2.2 ___ : Distribution of Votes by Location 284 2.3 ___ : Percentages of Votes Derived From Home/Urban Areas 286 PREFACE In mid-1 977 Papua New Guinea conducted its first national elections since independence. In the five years which had elapsed since the preceding general election of 1972, the political context had changed dramatically. In 1972 Papua New Guinea was still an Australian colony. The elections of that year, however, produced a national coalition government led by Mr. Michael Somare, which successfully steered the country first to self-government in December 1973, and then to independence in September 1975. The coalition government, on assuming office, had immediately commenced negotiations with Australia for a rapid transfer of powers, and had addressed a wide range of economic and social policy issues. In 1972 the then House of Assembly had established an all­ party Constitutional Planning Committee to devise an autochthonous con­ stitution. Within three years the transfer of power had been completed and a liberal democratic constitution based on a parliamentary system of govern­ ment had been adopted. On 16 September 1975, the Governor-General, Sir John Guise, declared Papua New Guinea an independent sovereign state. The politics of decolonization of that period were characterised by a consi­ derable degree of tension. Initially a substantial section of the community had opposed a rapid transition to independence. The proposals of the consti­ tutional planners had created rifts within the political leadership. The two separatist movements in Bougainville and Papua had seriously threatened the fragile unity of the new state on the eve of independence by unilaterally declaring their own independence from the rest of the country. These tensions, however, were to a large extent accommodated, and the Somare-led coalition government continued in office until the June-July elections of 1977. This volume does not include a survey of the final decolonization period but the following texts provide useful analyses of those years: D. Woolford: Papua New Guinea-Initiation and Independence, University of Queensland Press, 1976; J. Griffin, H. Nelson and S. Firth: Papua New Guinea: A Political History, Heineman, Australia, 1979; A. Amarshi, K. Good, R. Mortimer: Development and Dependency - The Political Economy of Papua New Guinea, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1979; J. Goldring: The Constitution of Papua New Guinea, Law Book Co., Sydney, 1978. The 1977 election studies presented in this volume are the product of a research project co-ordinated by the Department of Political and Administrat­ ive Studies at the University of Papua New Guinea. The participants included staff and students from various departments of UPNG, and field researchers from a variety of overseas universities. The original intention of the project was for a comprehensive survey of the elections within the evolving political economy of Papua New Guinea. However a limited budget, teaching commit­ ments and a high turnover of academics at UPNG reduced the project to one of selected studies in various parts of the country. An election seminar was held at UPNG immediately after the poll, but unfortunately many of the field reports were not prepared for subsequent publication. A list of these reports appears at the end of this volume and the manuscripts, together with a copy of the tape of the seminar, are deposited in the UPNG library. The volume is organised in the following manner: chapter one provides a brief overview of the elections; chapters two to four examine three electorates in the Papuan region; chapters five to ten examine the elections in parts of the Highlands region; chapters eleven to fourteen cover parts of the New Guinea coastal region; and chapters fifteen and sixteen provide short surveys of two vi Preface vii electorates in the New Guinea islands region. It is hoped that this volume com­ plements those of the 1964, 1968 and 1972 general elections: D.G. Bettison, C.A. Hughes, P.W. van der Veur (eds.): The Papua New Guinea Elections 1964, ANU Canberra 1964 ; A.L. Epstein, R.S. Parker, Marie Reay (eds.): The Politics of Dependence: Papua New Guinea 1968, ANU Press, Canberra, 1971; D. Stone (ed.): Prelude to Self-Government: Electoral Politics in Papua New Guinea 1972, UPNG and ANU, Canberra, 1976. Acknowledgements are due to the following: the research committee of UPNG which funded most of the project and the publications committee of UPNG which subsidised publication; the Electoral Commissioner, Mr James Mileng, and his field staff for their unstinting assistance to researchers and for his Report to the National Parliament: First National General Elections, 1977; film-makers Denis O'Rourke and Gary Kildea who produced the excellent documentary "Ileksen", and who co-operated with the project in many ways; students of UPNG who actively participated in the study; Loraine Blaxter, then of the Sociology Department, who organised much of the student research; UPNG administrative staff, Pala Vagi and Sandy Sandbach, who assisted in organising the post-election seminar; the National Mapping Bureau for supplying maps, and Vagi Raula and the cartography staff of the Geography Department, UPNG , for drawing them; and Mrs Molly Pouru, Mrs Leila Lisa and Mrs Oini Hau who painstakingly typed and re-typed and manuscripts.