Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Marape re-elected

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape was sworn in for a second term on Tuesday after an election was marred by violence and suspected corruption that also ended a five-year absence of women in parliament.

Marape won the support of the majority of MPs in the newly elected parliament on this mountainous, forest-covered Pacific island.

“I now declare that the Member for Tari-Pori, the Honorable James Marape, has been elected Prime Minister-elect of the independent state of Papua New Guinea,” said newly re-elected Speaker Job Pomat.

MPs applauded as Marape crossed the floor to shake hands with opposition members.

Among the newly elected members were Rufina Peter and Kessy Sawang, the first female candidates to be confirmed for a seat in Parliament.

Her victories marked a return of women to national politics after no women won seats in the previous 2017 election.

It was a “proud moment,” said Peter O’Neill, chairman of the People’s National Congress, of which Rufina Peter is a member.

“Our mothers, girls and women in Papua New Guinea, and indeed throughout the Pacific region, have a true champion, an experienced woman in Parliament,” O’Neill said in a statement.

Voting ended on Friday, but the count is still ongoing in some seats in the country, which is rich in resources but suffers from widespread poverty.

About 10,000 police, army and correctional service employees were mobilized to vote.

In a politically motivated attack on July 26, a machete-wielding gang chased two victims outside a counting center, leaving one with a traumatic brain injury and another with a wounded limb.

Commonwealth election observers have called for an “urgent review” of the voting process, citing missing names from the electoral roll and multiple allegations of bribery.

In an ethnically diverse country with more than 800 languages, voters have traditionally focused on the material benefits candidates can bring to their communities.