National Parliament of Papua New Guinea

{{Infobox legislature

| name = National Parliament of Papua New Guinea

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| transcription_name =

| legislature = 11th Parliament

| coa_pic = Logo of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea.png

| coa_res = 173px

| coa_alt =

| foundation = 1964

| house_type = Unicameral

| body =

| houses =

| leader1_type = Speaker

| leader1 = Job Pomat

| party1 =

| election1 = 2 August 2017

| leader2_type = Prime Minister

| leader2 = James Marape

| party2 = Pangu

| election2 = 30 May 2019

| leader3_type = Leader of the Opposition

| leader3 = Douglas Tomuriesa

| party3 = PNC

| election3 = 16 February 2024

| members = 118 (96 open electorates and 22 provincial electorates)

| house1 =

| house2 =

| structure1 = National Parliament of Papua New Guinea - 11th Term.svg

| structure1_res = 250px

| structure1_alt =

| structure2 =

| structure2_res =

| structure2_alt =

| political_groups1 = Government (102)https://devpolicy.org/pngmps/ PNG MP Database

{{colorbox|{{party color|Pangu Pati}}|border=silver}} Pangu Pati (42)
{{colorbox|{{party color|United Resources Party}}|border=silver}} United Resources (12)
{{colorbox|{{party color|Independent (politician)}}|border=silver}} Independents (8)
{{colorbox|{{party color|National Alliance Party (Papua New Guinea)}}|border=silver}} National Alliance (4)
{{colorbox|{{party color|People's Party (Papua New Guinea)}}|border=silver}} People's Party (4)
{{colorbox|{{party color|Social Democratic Party (Papua New Guinea)}}|border=silver}} Social Democratic (4)
{{colorbox|#FA000C|border=silver}} People's First (4)
{{colorbox|{{party color|National Party (Papua New Guinea)}}|border=silver}} National Party (3)
{{colorbox|{{party color|Papua New Guinea Party}}|border=silver}} PNG Party (3)
{{colorbox|#F79122|border=silver}} United Labour (3)
{{colorbox|#D05322|border=silver}} Advance PNG (2)
{{colorbox|#1F509F|border=silver}} Liberal Party (2)
{{colorbox|{{party color|Allegiance Party (Papua New Guinea)}}|border=silver}} Allegiance Party (1)
{{colorbox|{{party color|Papua New Guinea Greens}}|border=silver}} Green Party (1)
{{nowrap|{{colorbox|{{party color|Melanesian Alliance Party}}|border=silver}} Melanesian Alliance (1)}}
{{colorbox|{{party color|New Generation Party (Papua New Guinea)}}|border=silver}} New Generation (1)
{{colorbox|{{party color|Our Development Party}}|border=silver}} Our Development (1)
{{colorbox|{{party color|People's Labour Party (Papua New Guinea)}}|border=silver}} People's Labour (1)
{{colorbox|{{party color|People's Movement for Change}}|border=silver}} PMC Party (1)
{{colorbox|{{party color|People's National Congress (Papua New Guinea)}}|border=silver}} PNC Party (1)
{{colorbox|{{party color|People's Progress Party}}|border=silver}} People's Progress (1)
{{colorbox|#E40613|border=silver}} People's Reform (1)
{{colorbox|#031B65|border=silver}} Destiny Party (1)
{{colorbox|{{party color|Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party}}|border=silver}} T.H.E. Party (1)

Opposition (13)

{{colorbox|{{party color|People's National Congress (Papua New Guinea)}}|border=silver}} PNC Party (13)

Other (3)

{{colorbox|#FFFFFF|border=silver}} Vacant Seats (3) https://devpolicy.org/pngmps/ 2 from Deceased MPs, Lagaip Open District has no member.

| political_groups2 = 5

| committees1 =

| committees2 =

| joint_committees =

| voting_system1 = Limited instant-runoff voting

| voting_system2 =

| last_election1 = 9 – 22 July 2022

| last_election2 =

| previous_election1 =

| previous_election2 =

| session_room = Papua New Guinea 1991-039 Parliament House, Port Moresby (33351725760).jpg

| session_res = 250px

| session_alt =

| meeting_place = National Parliament House, Port Moresby

| website = {{URL|www.parliament.gov.pg}}

| footnotes =

| motto =

|background_color=green|term_limits=5 years|next_election1=2027}}

The National Parliament of Papua New Guinea is the unicameral national legislature in Papua New Guinea. It was created in 1964 as the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea but gained its current name after the nation was granted independence in 1975.

Composition and electoral system

The 118 members of parliament serve five-year terms, 96 of whom are chosen from single-member "open" electorates, which are sometimes referred to as "seats" but are officially known as constituencies. The remaining 22 are chosen from single-member provincial electorates: the 20 provinces, the autonomous province of Bougainville, and the National Capital District. Each provincial member becomes governor of their province unless they take a ministerial position, in which case the governorship passes to an open member of the province.{{cite web|title=About Our Parliament |url=http://www.parliament.gov.pg/about/parliament |publisher=National Parliament of Papua New Guinea}}

From 1964 until 1977 an Optional Preferential Voting System was used.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}} The first past the post system was used from 1977 until 2002. Electoral reforms introduced by former Prime Minister Mekere Morauta introduced Limited Preferential Voting, in which voters numbered three preferred candidates. LPV was first used nationally in the 2007 election.{{cite web|title=Papua New Guinea National Elections 2012: Final Report|url=http://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/papua-new-guinea-national-elections-2012-final-report|publisher=Commonwealth of Nations|access-date=19 May 2015|date=13 September 2012}}

The prime minister of Papua New Guinea is elected by members of parliament in accordance with section 142 of the national constitution, before being formally appointed by the governor-general of Papua New Guinea. All other government ministers – who form the National Executive Council and act as the country's cabinet – are appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister. Each government minister must be a member of parliament and section 141 of the constitution provides for the executive to be responsible to the legislature as the representative of the people of Papua New Guinea.{{cite news|url=https://www.parliament.gov.pg/images/misc/PNG-CONSTITUTION.pdf|title=Constitution of Papua New Guinea|page=67|access-date=30 November 2024|publisher=Parliament of Papua New Guinea}}

Papua New Guinea has a fractious political culture, and no party in the history of parliament has yet won a majority. Therefore, negotiations between parties have always been necessary to form governments. New governments are protected from votes of no confidence during their first 18 months and during the last 12 months before a national election. More recently, in a move aimed at further minimizing no-confidence motions, then-Prime Minister Mekere Morauta introduced changes that prevented members of the government from voting in favour of such a motion.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}}

All citizens over the age of 18 may vote, although voting is not compulsory.{{cite web|title=Enrolment Awareness|url=http://www.pngec.gov.pg/irc/awareness-info/enrollment-awareness|publisher=Electoral Commission of Papua New Guinea}}