The People's Party is a political party in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. It was founded in 2006 by Peter Ipatas, governor of

Enga Province Enga is one of the provinces in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Enga is geographically situated in the northern region of Papua New Guinea and was separated from the adjacent Western Highlands at the time of national independence in 1975. The majority ...

, 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 – 25 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: 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 has served as the Minister of Finan ...

(Kompiam-Ambum Open), Robert Ganim (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. He has been a Member of Parliament for Ialibu-Pangia since 2002. He was a fo ...

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-party-stub