Author Archives: Academia Nomad

I once listened to a talk about challenges women face in elections. The case study was on the Oro Provincial Seat of 2017. I am from Oro so I listened with interest. I was disappointed at the end because the findings were not a good reflection of Oro politics. The study suggested that the femaleContinue reading “Women Candidates: Avoid un-winnable seats”

The PNG incumbent politicians are seeking re-election. Generally there are two narratives in their campaigns. The first group tell their voters why they didn’t deliver services (for non-PNG readers, PNG politicians are enabled by law to provide services apart from their law making duties). This first group blames O’Neill or Marape, depending on whether theyContinue reading “A man confident of his record: Alan Bird’s nomination speech”

The average incumbent MP turn over rate in PNG is 50%. In other words, about 50% of MPs lose their seat every election. This has been the case without exception since the first post independent election in 1977. This turn over rate is one of the highest in the world. 2002 is considered the worstContinue reading “Is there anyone good left in PNG?”

There were many tributes written about Sam Basil, including one by Sam Koim, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue Commission, which was re-published here. In this article, I will talk about the impact of Sam Basil’s passing on the political party he formed in 2020 and was leading into the 2022 elections before the tragic accidentContinue reading “Bel Sore (Sympathy) votes and Sam Basil’s United Labour Party”

This article was first posted by Sam Koim on his Facebook post. By Sam Koim TRIBUTE TO late SAM BASIL, MY BROTHER. We met on the battlefield, not against each other, but against an invisible enemy that still threatens the wellbeing of our nation today. I was a rookie State Lawyer and he was aContinue reading “Sam Koim’s Tribute for Sam Basil”