12/5/2023 0 Comments Hasten slowly![]() Though new electorates were distributed almost equally across provinces, malapportionment isn’t distributed in this way. It’s unclear in any case whether the 2005 recommendations (and those of other years) would have successfully tackled malapportionment. All provinces then were recommended one new electorate, except Madang (2), Morobe (2), West New Britain (2), and Southern Highlands (4). In 2005, the EBC recommended 26 new open electorates, reflecting 8, 6, 6, and 6 new electorates in the Highlands, Islands, Momase, and Southern regions, respectively. ![]() ![]() The EBC conducted reviews in 1981, 1985-86, 1991, 2005-, but its recommendations to parliament were rejected (the OLNLLGE does not permit parliament to amend the EBC’s recommendations). No redistricting has occurred since independence. However, a risk remains that gerrymandering might occur through government’s influence over members of the EBC, both ex-officio and appointed. These restrictions would seem to protect against gerrymandering. National MPs, members of provincial assemblies or local level government, or office-holders of registered parties cannot be appointed. According to the OLNLLGE, the Electoral Boundaries Commission (EBC) must comprise six members, half of which are ex-officio: the Electoral Commissioner (chair), the head of the Surveyor-General’s Office, the head of the National Statistics Office, and three members appointed by the Governor-General. The OLNLLGE states that the number of open electorates in PNG can range between 110 and 120, and allows for a maximum of 31 new electorates in addition to the 89 existing electorates.Īs other countries, such as the United States, have shown, a risk when redistricting is the possibility of gerrymandering (the redrawing of electoral boundaries to favour certain politicians or parties). It shows that the regional distribution of electorates is roughly representative of the regional distribution of population. The table below uses 2011 census data, and compares population shares with numbers of open electorates, by region. This leaves us with the 2011 census, which was not well run, but its data are adequate to get a sense of malapportionment in PNG. However, PNG’s next census has been delayed until 2024. In a country like PNG, where voter rolls are inaccurate, the best means of measuring malapportionment is using census data. In this post, I describe the extent of malapportionment across open electorates, and discuss how redistricting may be conducted, and its associated risks. In PNG, malapportionment brings other practical problems, such as preventing some spending from being fairly distributed on a per capita basis – for example, the District Services Improvement Program ( DSIP), which is allocated equally to open MPs. Malapportionment is a concern because it violates a basic democratic tenet, that everyone should be equally represented in parliament. Populations vary greatly between open electorates in Papua New Guinea (PNG) – a problem called malapportionment. Hasten slowly: PNG’s redistricting challenge By Maholopa Laveil 21 December 2021 ![]()
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