Politics in Papua New Guinea has been plunged into more turmoil today, with government MPs continuing to meet, with the opposition out of town, thinking they had adjourned parliament.
The government MPs passed the Budget, and then made their own adjournment, through to next April.
This comes after the opposition last, bolstered by government MPs crossing the floor, called for and won an adjournment vote.
An estimated 43 of those MPs, then travelled to Vanimo, to prepare for a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister James Marape, which they planned to move on December 1st.
The date is significant because it is when Mr Marape's 18 month grace period from no confidence votes, under PNG law, expires.
But on Monday the Speaker Job Pomat announced that opposition leader Belden Namah had no right to call for an adjournment and that parliament was still in session.
Parliament was to resume at 2pm Tuesday but Michael Kabuni, a political scientist at the University of PNG, said this was brought forward to 10am, presumably prompted by legal action the opposition's lawyers were preparing to take.
Mr Kabuni told Don Wiseman about the latest developments.
Papua New Guinea 's national parliament in Waigani. Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
