Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape says there will be a need for complex discussions and negotiations between the PNG and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville governments after the referendum. Marape, in a statement on Friday, said the discussions needed to be respectful and could not be dictated to from outside. “This must happen before any proposed political settlement is put to Parliament, which will in turn, as prescribed by the Constitution, have the final say,” Marape said. He said the referendum which was part of the Bougainville Peace Agreement was a means for the voice of the Bougainville people to be heard.
“It is the basis on which the two government’s will consult after the referendum has taken place, which will in turn inform the final political settlement that is reached. But as I have said on many occasions, political independence is meaningless without economic independence.” Marape urged all Bougainvilleans who had registered to vote in the referendum. He also urged all Papua New Guineans to allow the referendum process to take its lawful course, and for everyone to ensure that polling was conducted peacefully and fairly. “At the conclusion of the referendum, the Bougainville Referendum Commission chairman Bertie Ahern will return the writs to the Governor-General (Sir Bob Dadae). Once this has taken place, the outcome will be formally announced.” Statement Next : PNG's K1 Billion Loan From Australia Not To Counter China Comments are closed.
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