Supreme Court dismiss petition against Markham MP

The Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea dismissed an election petition review by Gengewe Neritha Ganzik last Thursday, challenging a National Court decision that rejected her case against the 2022 election result for the Markham Open Electorate. 

Koni Iguan, the current deputy speaker of parliament, was declared the winner of the Markham Open seat after ballot papers and boxes were destroyed during counting.

Dissatisfied, Ganzik took the matter to court, claiming the result was unfair and illegal. However, the National Court dismissed her petition earlier this year, stating it did not meet the requirements of the Organic Law on National and Local-Level Government Elections [OLNLLGE]. 

Ganzik then applied for a Supreme Court review, arguing that the National Court judge made legal mistakes and ignored important issues. She also questioned the constitutionality of Section 175(1A)(b) of the OLNLLGE, which allowed the declaration of the winner after the ballots were destroyed. 

Justice Derek Hartshorn, joined by Justices Thomas Anis and John Kamane Numapo, dismissed her review. They said Section 220 of the OLNLLGE is clear: National Court decisions on election petitions are final and cannot be reviewed.

While the Supreme Court has powers under Section 155(2)(b) of the Constitution, these powers cannot override the finality rules in the Organic Law. Justice Hartshorn explained that ignoring this would make Section 220 meaningless. 

The Supreme Court also said that Ganzik’s petition had many legal problems. The judges found no extraordinary reasons to allow a review.

They ruled that her case failed to include the necessary legal grounds to challenge the election, such as illegal practices or serious errors. The Court also said that the election petition process was not the right way to question the constitutionality of laws. 

The judges agreed with the National Court that Ganzik’s petition had serious flaws in its arguments. They said her actions were an abuse of court processes because her goal was not to challenge the election result but to make a constitutional declaration. 

The Supreme Court upheld the National Court's decision and ordered Ganzik to pay legal costs for Hon. Koni Iguan and the Electoral Commission.