Looking at the development of political parties in Papua New Guinea since the late 1960s, splits or division within a party has been the major cause of party decline in the country. One party that was greatly affected by this experience has been Pangu Pati, one of the oldest political parties apart from the United Party. The Peoples Progress Party (PPP) and the Kantri Party have also faced this situation in the past. Pangu first experienced a division within its ranks after the 1982 national elections which led to the formation of the League for National Advancement (LNA). Later in the 1980s, another split occurred which led to the formation of the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM). The final split to Pangu occurred in the 1990s, when the National Alliance (NA) was established and headed by the former founder of Pangu Pati, Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare. The split from Pangu by Sir Michael contributed to the massive decline of Pangu Pati thus affecting greatly its dominance in the elections since 2002. Since 2002, Pangu has not been able to get itself off the ground which saw its dismal performance in both the 2007 and 2012 national elections. The 2012 election result was the lowest in the history of Pangu Pati when it won only one seat Angoram Open. To make matters worse for the party, it lost the seat when its only elected MP passed away while in Office.
The Registry since its establishment back in 2001 has been following the situation faced by Pangu Pati with interest mainly due to its prominence as a party back in pre-independence era and after independence. But despite the loss of a MP by Pangu Pati back in 2013, there was light at the end of the tunnel for the party through the efforts of its General Secretary Morris Toveabe. Morris did not allow the situations faced by Pangu to affect its standing as a registered political party. He was and is one of the outstanding party executive who is always around during the Learning and Development Workshops since 2013. He is one of the few executives who had attended all the workshops and his contributions to the workshops have always been well appreciated by the Registrar and Registry as a whole. Morris is an example of a party official who never gives up despite the dilemmas faced by the party.
Morris through his commitment and performance as a party official is an example of someone who holds the interest of his party at heart and would not stop at anything to pursue the interest of his party. His exemplary commitment led to his party getting a MP in mid-2014 through Hon Sam Basil MP for Bulolo who has joined the party and has taken over the leadership of the party. Since joining Pangu and heading the party, Hon Sam Basil and Morris has worked well as a team. The Registry was impressed with the media campaign that Pangu has embarked on and especially the membership drive that Pangu has rolled out starting in the Morobe Province.
This short article is to show how a party who was once dominant in the politics of this country has suffered due to splits and divisions but is now trying to work its way back into the mainstream of politics in Papua New Guinea. Currently a number of parties have also faced some splits in its membership in Parliament but the Registry’s advice to the parties especially its party officials is not to give up but to follow the experiences of Pangu Pati and the commitment showed by its General Secretary Morris Toveabe to keep working to move the party forward.
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