The People's Democratic Movement is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. It was founded by

Paias Wingti Paias Wingti (born 2 February 1951) is a Papua New Guinean politician. He served as the third Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea between 1985 and 1988, and again from 1992 to 1994. Early life and education Wingti hails from the Jika Tribe of the ...

in 1985, after his faction left the

Pangu Party The Pangu Pati, also known as the Pangu Party or Papua and Niugini Union Pati, is a political party in Papua New Guinea. As of September 2019, the party had 23 of 111 seats in the National Parliament. History The party was founded in June 1967 ...

. Wingti served as prime minister from 1985 to 1988 and from 1992 to 1994. He was later replaced as leader by

Mekere Morauta The Right Honourable Sir Mekere Morauta (12 June 1946 – 19 December 2020) was a Papua New Guinean politician and economist who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 1999 to 2002. Inheriting a depressed economy and a fra ...

who also served as prime minister during his leadership of the PDM from 1999 to 2002. The party won 13 of 109 seats at the 2002 general election. It became the second largest party in Parliament, but the largest party, the National Alliance Party led by

Michael Somare Sir Michael Thomas Somare (9 April 1936 – 26 February 2021) was a Papua New Guinean politician. Widely called the "father of the nation" (), he was the first Prime Minister after independence. At the time of his death, Somare was also the lo ...

formed the government. The PDM joined the opposition in the

National Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. Before the 2007 general elections, Morauta lost the leadership of the party and founded his own party, the Papua New Guinea Party, while Wingti became the leader of the PDM again. At the 2007 general elections, the PDM was heavily defeated, winning 5 seats in Parliament. Wingti was among those who lost their seats, and Morauta’s new

Papua New Guinea Party The Papua New Guinea Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in 2007 by former Prime Minister and Leader of the People's Democratic Movement, Mekere Morauta, along with MP Wake Goi. The party won 8 out of 109 seats in the ...

became the largest opposition party with 8 seats. The PDM left the opposition and joined Somare’s coalition government. In the 2012 general election, all 6 PDM members joined other parties before going into the election, with Wingti returning in Western Highlands Regional to become the Governor of the Province, and

Tommy Tomscholl Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

elected in Middle Ramu Open. Tomscholl was appointed Minister for Agriculture and Livestock by

Peter O'Neill Peter Charles Paire O'Neill (born 13 February 1965) is a Papua New Guinean politician who served as the seventh Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 2011 to 2019. From 2002 until the present he served as Member of Parliament for Ialibu-Pan ...

, but subsequently defected to O'Neill's People's National Congress, leaving Wingti as the party's sole MP.

Joe Koim Komun Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

Jiwaka Province Jiwaka is a province of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is temporarily located in Kurumul. Mostly all provincial matters are handled in Kurumul while few are handled in Banz and Minj. The province covers an area of 4,798 km², and ...

has since joined PDM, having formerly sat as an independent. As of May 2019, the party had one seat in the National Parliament.

References

Political parties in Papua New Guinea *Main {{PapuaNewGuinea-party-stub