Port Moresby,: James Marape, a former finance minister and critic of a major global gas development deal, was elected by parliament as the new prime minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG) on Thursday.
His election came after weeks of political turmoil that saw his predecessor, Peter O’Neill, resign having lost the support of the House after more than seven years in power, Aljazeera reported.
“Honourable members, I now declare that the member for Tari Pori James Marape has been elected as prime minister-elect of the independent state of Papua New Guinea,” said Speaker Job Pomat, announcing Marape’s 101-8 victory.
The speaker then suspended parliament so Marape could be sworn in by Governor-General Bob Dadae. Legislators surrounded the new prime minister to congratulate him.
In a Facebook post early on Thursday, Marape pledged to make PNG “the ‘richest black Christian nation’ on Earth” and to put the “national interest ahead of personal and corporate interest”.
UNI.
