PAPUA-NIUGINI
— Also: Papua-Nugini.
— Officially: Independent State of Papua New Guinea.
— Seat of government: Pot Mosbi.
— Status: Democratic.
— Structure: Parliament is elected by ranked voting in geographical constituencies with one additional member per province, and chooses the prime minister.
— Chief governing party: People’s National Congress Party.
— Head of government: Peter O’Neill, PNCP, prime minister (since 2011).
— Other large parliamentary parties: Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party; Papua New Guinea Party; National Alliance; United Resources Party; People’s Party; People’s Progress Party.
— Recent history: Concluded in 2000 a peace treaty with Bogenvil creating the Otonomos Region bilong Bogenvil and allowing for an independence referendum, though the territory was effectively independent for some time after the agreement, at least up through the 2005 death of independence leader Francis Ona. Parliamentary elections feature thousands of candidates for around a hundred seats. In 2011 O’Neill replaced independence leader Michael Somare (1975-80, 1982-5, 2002-11), when Somare was abroad for medical treatment. The Supreme Court later ordered Somare reinstated, but this was disputed and O’Neill effectively retained most power. A new election was held in 2012, with O’Neill’s PNCP finishing first. In 2014, O’Neill closed an anti-corruption agency and fired several officials to shield himself against corruption charges.
— FH: 4-3, partly free (democratic). Econ: 6.54 (61), flawed democracy.
— Updated: 2015 April 22.
ME’EKAMUI
— Officially: Twin Kingdoms of Me’ekamui and Papaala.
— English: Bougainville.
— Seat of governmet: Tonu.
— Status: Not democratic. Probably defunct.
— Governing party: Bogenvil Revoluseneri Ami.
— Head of government: Pei II (Noah Musingku), king.
— Assessment: Remnant of decades-long fight for autonomy or secession from Papua Niugini. Independence leader Francis Ona died in 2005.
— Updated: 2015 April 22.
O.T. FORD