Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba is expected to table a draft sessional order on the ratification of the 2019 referendum results when Papua New Guinea Parliament resumes today.
Bougainville Regional MP Peter Tsiamalili Jr, also the Leader of Government Business, told Parliament last Friday that the “discussion on Bougainville on Tuesday (June 9) will be a very important day for all of us”.
“I encourage all leaders, please indulge yourself with the Bougainville agenda so that we can ensure that our discussion has deep substance, is based on facts, and is quarantined through the parliamentary process,” he said.
On Tuesday, Makiba confirmed that he had received the draft sessional order, a temporary procedure different from the standing orders of the House, from Speaker Job Pomat.
He said it would be tabled in Parliament after its approval by the National Executive Council.
“The process to be established to bring the referendum result into Parliament for that decision to be taken is now ready,” Makiba said.
“I am in receipt of the sessional order, which is the process that the Parliament will adopt to make that decision.”
Makiba said this was done in accordance with conditions outlined in the Melanesian Agreement on how the referendum results would be tabled in Parliament.
A non-binding independence referendum was held in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville between 23 November and 07 December 2019.
The referendum question presented a choice between greater autonomy within Papua New Guinea and full independence.
Bougainvilleans voted 97.7 percent for independence.
Makiba said: “In Section 342 of the Constitution, the referendum result must come back to the National Parliament for the leaders representing the rest of the country to make a final decision.
“For all leaders in the 11th Parliament, we are now placed in a very important period in the history of our country to make a very critical decision to settle the future of Bougainville.
“You must also know that while you make that decision, you are also reshaping the course of the country as we know, and that is not easy.”
He urged all MPs to read and understand the report tabled by the Bipartisan Parliamentary Committee on Bougainville Matters chairman and Rabaul MP Dr Allan Marat to understand well the subject.
Marat said the consultations were to gather public views on the 2019 referendum results, including possible pathways forward with the implementation of the referendum and the management of alternative scenarios, so that MPs could be better informed before making a decision.
Meanwhile, Prime Minster James Marape said Parliament would be expected to ratify the referendum results by 30 August to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement in 2001.
