The Christian Democratic Party 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 gained its first representation immediately after the 1997 election, when Puri Ruing, who had been elected for the People's Resources Awareness Party, joined the party. The party initially supported the government of

Bill Skate Sir William Jack Skate (26 September 1953 – 3 January 2006) was a prominent Papua New Guinea politician. He was the son of an Australian father and a Papua New Guinean mother. Though his career was turbulent and often marked by setbacks, he s ...

, but later supported the government of

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 ...

, with Ruing made a minister in his government. Ruing defected to the

People's Democratic Movement The People's Democratic Movement is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded by Paias Wingti in 1985, after his faction left the Pangu Party. Wingti served as prime minister from 1985 to 1988 and from 1992 to 1994. He was later repla ...

later in the term. The party won three seats at the 2002 election: Mark Anis (Tambul-Nebilyer Open), Paul Wai (Angalimp-South Wahgi Open) and Dr Banare Bun (Henganofi Open), with Bun becoming parliamentary leader. Wai died in July 2003, and the party did not retain the seat. In October 2003, Bun criticised the National AIDS Council for using "explicit sexual language" in their information campaigns. In May 2004, amidst consternation over the role of 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 ...

, Bun and Anis were the only recognised members of the opposition. Anis had defected to the

by the time of the 2007 election, at which Bun lost his seat. It was revived in late 2015 after nine years of inactivity, with formerly independent

Morobe Province Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km2, with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands P ...

governor Kelly Naru as leader and Bun returning as interim secretary. Bun stated that government leaders must "follow the legacy of Christ as a political principle for good governance." The party has a policy of giving "one tenth of earnings as tithes for the work of God", and pledged to campaign for a more equitable distribution of wealth.

References

Political parties in Papua New Guinea Christian democratic parties in Oceania Christian political parties in Papua New Guinea {{PapuaNewGuinea-party-stub