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A roll-call of Papua New Guinea's former leaders has come together to form an opposition coalition, just weeks before the country goes to the polls for the national election.
Key points:
- Coalition includes former prime ministers Sir Michael Somare and Sir Mekere Morauta
- Prime Minister Peter O'Neill labelled the group "recycled, old and tired leaders"
- Polling begins June 24 and ends July 8
Ben Micah of the Peoples' Progress Party, Kerenga Kua of the PNG National Party, Patrick Pruaitch of the National Alliance, and former prime minister Sir Mekere Morauta were among those who joined forces in the hope of displacing the ruling People's National Congress, led by Prime Minister Peter O'Neill.
Although he has announced that he will be retiring before the election, PNG's first prime minister, Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare will also be involved in the coalition.
Mr Micah said the collective experience of the group would give voters confidence that they could form government and tackle the major issues facing the country.
"[Michael] Somare, Sir Julius Chan, myself, all the other leaders that are now coming together, we've all been in government," he said.
"It's nothing new for us, it's just another election.
"The major problem confronting our country is the fact that the Government is broke.
"Certainly it's the issue of the shortage of funds in government and issues of maladministration, issues of corruption that continue to plague the leadership of the Prime Minister and many of his ministers.
"We have decided now to consolidate an alternative team that will present to the voters in the next two weeks."
Mr O'Neill has labelled the group "recycled, old and tired leaders".
Campaign interruptions
The election campaign has been marred by violence and featured numerous strange episodes, including the theft of a currency shipment, religious concerns over the election writs and campaign stunts from party leaders.
Economic downturn has also resulted in fewer candidates and less money spent on campaigning.
Mr O'Neill — who has served as Prime Minister since 2012 — has campaigned on the back of policies such as the Tuition Fee Free (TFF) education scheme and the free healthcare plan, but critics have highlighted funding issues with both policies.
Education researcher Peter Michael Magury, who was involved in the roll-out of the TFF in 2012, said he had seen a serious decline in examination results since the TFF began and was concerned about the future of the policy.
"At [the] initial stage of roll-out, it was very good idea, a very good policy rolled out," he said.
"At the time, we had sufficient funds. But as of right now, we don't have enough funds to sustain that. A lot of schools are not receiving their funds."
Polling begins on June 24 and runs until July 8, 2017.
Topics: world-politics, elections, papua-new-guinea, pacific
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