Incumbent Peter O’Neill has been re-elected as prime minister of Papua New Guinea.
O’Neill was sworn to a second five-year term after his People’s National Congress formed a coalition government with other minor parties, giving O’Neill 60 votes with 46 votes against him.
Papua New Guinea is an Oceanian country that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia. Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The western half of New Guinea forms the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua.
Papua New Guinea is a Commonwealth realm. As such, Queen Elizabeth II is its sovereign and head of state.
The monarch is represented by the Governor-General of Papua New Guinea, currently Bob Dadae.
Papua New Guinea (and the Solomon Islands) are unusual among Commonwealth realms in that governors-general are elected by the legislature, rather than chosen by the executive branch.
The Prime Minister heads the cabinet, which consists of 31 MPs from the ruling coalition, which make up the government.
The unicameral National Parliament has 111 seats, of which 22 are occupied by the governors of the 22 provinces and the National Capital District (NCD). Candidates for members of parliament are voted upon when the prime minister asks the governor-general to call a national election, a maximum of five years after the previous national election.
