Papua New Guinea's registrar of Political Parties, Alphonse Gelu, has questioned the government's method of prioritising legislation before the parliament.
Papua New Guinea parliament facade. Photo: RNZI / Johnny Blades
Dr Gelu said he was frustrated legislation he helped develop to revise the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates had not made it onto parliament's agenda before the 2017 election.
He said the legislation would strengthen the political party system, however it was not on the agenda for the current sitting of parliament.
Dr Gelu is concerrned that it won't be ready in time for next year's election.
"The government must make it its business to debate legislations that are vetted, instead of trying to do some and then push aside some others on how parliamentary democracy operates. So I'm still waiting" he said.
Alphonse Gelu also admits that recent developments have eroded parliament's effectiveness, such as the Peter O'Neill-led government's move to reduce the number of annual sitting days in parliament from over 60 to 40.
