By JONATHAN TANNOS
OPPOSITION Leader, Sir Mekere Morauta, yesterday accused the Prime Minister, Sir Michael Somare, of washing his hands clean of the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC).
Sir Mekere said the law, parts of which were last week declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, was the making of the Prime Minister himself.
Sir Mekere said he had proposed the law in 2001 but Sir Michael had refined and adopted his own in 2003 which had now been thrown out by the Supreme Court.
Sir Mekere said Sir Michael could not blame him and legal consultant Dr John Nonggorr.
“Somare cannot duck responsibility for OLIPPAC,” he said.
“Michael Somare has a highly selective memory.
“The law on which the court made its ruling last week was the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates 2003, enacted when Somare became Prime Minister in 2002. Has Somare now conveniently forgotten that he repealed the 2001 law I enacted when I was Prime Minister and replaced it with his own 2003 law?”
Sir Mekere said under the Somare version a change was made to allow the current Prime Minister’s chief of staff Paul Bengo, as the only constitutional officer holder to remain in office over the age of 55 as Registrar of Political Parties. Sir Mekere said the intention of the law was passed in good faith to stabilise the system of politics and reduce corruption. He said the issues should still be high on the agenda of any ethical political party.
But he said despite the good intentions the system had been grossly abused by the current government over the last eight years.
Post Courier July 12 2010
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