Turmoil in PNG Parliament After Opposition Fails to Unseat PM in 4th Attempt

A fourth attempt by Papua New Guinea’s opposition parties to unseat Prime Minister James Marape has been disallowed by Parliament’s Speaker on a technicality, causing an uproar among MPs. Since the defection of Rainbo Paita, Mr. Marape’s former leader of government business and finance minister, and 20 other MPs—including five government ministers—in late May, the Opposition has tried and failed to bring down the government. The first attempt was in February this year, which was the earliest possible time for such a motion since PNG law bans no-confidence motions for 18 months after general elections. The Opposition filed two notices for consideration by Parliament’s Private Business Committee (PBC)—the parliamentary committee that considers no-confidence motions—but both were rejected....