Dede Sophie

Leader of Our Development Party and three-term Alotau Open MP Charles Abel has been eliminated from the race for the Milne Bay Regional seat. Counting for this seat has been suspended to tomorrow, after this 14th exclusion. Mr. Abel was vying for Governor in this national election. Mr. Abel’s exit comes as a shock to many in Milne Bay Province. He managed to poll 9,462 votes to be eliminated, leaving three candidates left in the race. Counting was suspended to 7am tomorrow (Tuesday 02.08.22) where the 15th exclusion will be the only other female left in the race – PANGU Pati’s Jennifer Rudd. People’s National Congress Party candidate Gordon Henry Wesley has a commanding lead of 32,380, followed by National Alliance Party candidate Tim Neville on 24,761 votes while United Resource Party’s Titus Philemon is on the spot with 23,542 votes. NBC News / PNG Today Next :  PNG Election : Yama calls for Suspension of Madang Returning Officer

Air Niugini has advised the travelling public that due to the deteriorating condition of the runway surface at Aropa Airport, Autonomous Region Of Bougainville (AROB), all services to Kieta have been suspended until further notice. Passengers with tickets for Kieta may reroute them to/from Buka at no additional costs, rebook for a later date, or apply for a refund. Air Niugini regrets any inconvenience caused to our customers, however the situation is outside the airline’s control.  Safety is always of paramount importance in our operations. The airline continues to operate six weekly Fokker jet services to Buka (daily except Sundays)  Next :  PNG Superfund Opens New-look Member Service Centres

Papua New Guinea Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai said the Commission will consult with relevant authorities including the Department of Justice and Attorney General to review the cost of legal fees that are charged by private firms on elections petitions and other matters. He said the State remains the single biggest clients to most of the law firms that are operating in the country, where all government departments and State agencies continue to hire their services. Mr Sinai said the government has been paying huge sums of money to private law firms without using an approved legal fee structure. “It is unfortunate that we don’t have a standardized or a prescribed legal fee structure that can be used as a guide to pay appropriate levels of fees to private lawyers. Currently the Commission is paying fees based on different categories of tasks that are undertaken, especially with election petitions. And that’s how we have been operating since the engagement of private lawyers in 2002