The People's Party is a political party in

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 in 2006 by Peter Ipatas, governor of

Enga Province Enga is one of the provinces in Papua New Guinea (PNG). It is located in the north most region of the highlands of PNG, having been divided from the Western Highlands to become a separate province when the provinces were created at the time of in ...

, following his resignation from the

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 ...

. The party won three seats at the 2007 election: Ipatas, Sailon Beseo (Kainantu Open) and Samson Kuli (Usino-Bundi). The party then supported

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 ...

for Prime Minister. It gained an additional MP in August 2010, when newly elected Wewak Open MP Dr Moses Manwau joined the party. During the attempts to topple Somare's government in his absence in 2011, the party strongly supported his designated Acting Prime Minister,

Sam Abal Samuel Tei Abal (born 26 June 1958) is a Papua New Guinean politician. Abal, who previously served as Foreign Minister from August 2007 to December 2010, became the Deputy Prime Minister of the country in a cabinet reshuffle by Michael Somare o ...

. The People's Party won six seats at the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

: Ipatas,

John Pundari Sir John Pundari (born 7 January 1967) is a Papua New Guinean politician. He has been Speaker of the National Parliament (1997–1999), Deputy Prime Minister (1999), Minister for Foreign Affairs (2001), and currently serving as the Minister of F ...

(Kompiam-Ambum Open),

Robert Ganim Robert Sandan Ganim (born 6 June 1962) is a Papua New Guinean politician. He was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2012 to 2017, representing the electorate of Wabag Open for the People's Party (2012-2017) and the Peopl ...

(Wabag Open), Davis Steven (Esa'Ala Open), Mogerema Sigo Wei (Karimui-Nomane Open) and Westly Nukundi (Dei Open), while Kuli lost his seat. It switched its support to the government of

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 ...

after the election. The party "unequivocally supported" an extension of the "grace period" banning no-confidence votes from 18 months to 30 months. In January 2013, the party announced a merger with the governing People's National Congress. However, later that month, the Registrar of the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates Commission stated that the requirements of the Organic Law on Political Parties & Candidates had not yet been met, and that they were "still two different parties". The parties remain closely linked; however, while some sources have stated that they have merged, the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates Commission still lists the two as separate parties, and it remains separately registered for the 2017 election.

References

Political parties in Papua New Guinea 2006 establishments in Papua New Guinea Political parties established in 2006 {{PapuaNewGuinea-stub