There's a cross-party call for more women to stand for election to Papua New Guinea's parliament.
Bulolo MP Sam Basil inside the Pangu Pati's stall at a Political Parties Expo. Photo: Pangu Pati
The call came during a Political Party Expo in Port Moresby at the weekend.
PNG's parliament currently has no women in the 111-seat house, down from three in the previous term.
A record number of female candidates, 167 or 5 percent of the overall field, stood in this year's general election.
The leader of the Pangu Pati, Sam Basil, said that people needed to recognise the potential of women in politics.
Both he and the opposition leader, the National Alliance Leader Patrick Pruaitch, said that joining political parties was the best first step for women seeking to be MPs.
The need to strengthen PNG's political parties was a key theme at the Expo.
In a speech at the event, Mr Basil said the political party system in the country was personality-oriented.
But he said parties should work towards more sustainability so that they can survive after their key leaders exit parliament.
"When the elections loom, political parties pop up like mushrooms. When the election is over, they die out. Such should be discouraged. Parties should operate and exist like institutions," he said.
"As a leader, I would like students to become members of our Pangu Pati. Thus, when we are phased out, we will have a new crop of leaders to take over from us," he said.
Gary Juffa (Governor of Oro), Alphonse Gelu (Registrar of Political Parties), Sir Julius Chan (Governor of New Ireland), Patrick Pruaitch (MP for Aitape/Lumi) and Sam Basil (MP for Bulolo) at a PNG Political Parties Expo, 25 November 2017. Photo: Pangu Pati
Pangu Pati emerged from the election as the second biggest party in parliament, on the back of a campaign that resonated with many young voters.
The Bulolo MP said his party fielded numerous female candidates in the election but the outcome was poor, attributing it to "bad leadership precedence set by previous female MPs and male dominance".
He pledged to support the Women Bill's, saying it should not be overdone.
