Opposition defends appointment of Dr. Nicole Haley as merit-based

Opposition Leader, James Nomane made a call to reject the politics of suspicion in the appointment of an Australian as the new PNG Electoral Commissioner.

As a member of the Electoral Commission Appointments Committee, the Opposition leader confirmed the process was fair and rigorous.

Nomane said 11 applicants, three short-listed, each subjected to exhaustive, independent questioning on impartiality, strategy, PNG leadership and election readiness for 2027.

"Dr Nicole Haley did not merely pass this process, she led it," he said.

He added that Professor Haley showed the committee a clear grasp of election volatility and what would be required to modernize the PNG Electoral Commission to a seamless digital platform to achieve the standard of one person, one vote, one count.

The Opposition leader said it is disappointing and dangerous of claims that the new Electoral Commissioner is positioned to rig the 2027 national elections because of her ties to Hela Province.

Nomane described those allegations as not scrutiny but sabotage of the truth, decades of scholarship twisted into conspiracy and the role of the opposition brought into question.

He further stated that the special parliamentary committee on elections, chaired by East Sepik Governor, Alan Bird, now sits within the Inter-Departmental Election Committee, working with the Commissioner to adopt election reforms before 2027.

Meanwhile, the opposition leader, who is also a member of the bipartisan Electoral Commission Appointments Committee, called on Prime Minister James Marape to remove the administrative oversight arrangement, confirm Professor Haley's answers to the constitution, not to any minister, and show the country that its confidence in the new Electoral Commissioner is real.