PNG's ruling party supports 15-year transition period for Bougainville

Papua New Guinea's ruling PANGU Party says it would support a 15-year transition process for Bougainville, regardless of whether parliament votes for or against independence.

Prime Minister James Marape outlined the proposal in a statement defending PNG's constitutional process for deciding Bougainville's political future.

Bougainville, which is an autonomous region within PNG, voted overwhelmingly for independence in a non-binding referendum in 2019, but the final decision rests with PNG's national parliament, as provided for under the Bougainville Peace Agreement.

Marape said if parliament voted in favour of independence, the constitution allowed for a negotiated transition period of up to 15 years, during which powers would be progressively transferred from Port Moresby to Bougainville.

He said the process would be conditional on Bougainville demonstrating financial self-sufficiency, maintaining peace and stability, and eliminating armed violence and factionalism.

The prime minister said Bougainville would need to generate enough internal revenue to fund at least 70 percent of its annual budget over a five-year period.

But Marape also said that if parliament rejected independence, under PANGU's plan, the referendum result should remain "alive" rather than being extinguished.

Under that scenario, Bougainville would still be given the same 15-year period to meet agreed benchmarks before parliament reconsidered the issue.

"What I meant was that the issue will not be finally resolved by a single vote alone," Marape said, in reference to his comments in parliament recently that "a yes can become a no and a no can become a yes".

"The parliamentary vote simply begins the next stage of our collective journey as a nation."

Constitutional path

Marape repeatedly stressed that Bougainville's future could only be decided through constitutional processes established under the 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement and incorporated into Papua New Guinea's constitution.

He said parliament, not the national government, had the final authority to decide the referendum outcome.

"Breaking up a country is the most serious decision any parliament can make," he said.

"It is only proper that a super-majority befitting a constitutional change should determine such a matter."

Marape also defended the parliament speaker Job Pomat's position that a three-quarter parliamentary majority should be required in order to ratify the result to approve independence. Bougainville's leaders have voiced frustratino over this high majority threshold.

The prime minister said he would continue discussions with Bougainville leaders and wanted parliament to consider the referendum outcome on 30 August, subject to agreement from the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG).

Bougainville's referendum saw 97.7 percent of voters support independence from PNG after decades of conflict and the Peace Agreement brokered in 2001.