Papua New Guinea: Police seeking to arrest ex-PM Peter O’Neill

Papua New Guinea police, on October 15, said that they have an arrest warrant against the former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill in a corruption case. Waigani district court had issued the warrant on October 11 citing ‘official corruption’. The police said that the former Prime Minister was not cooperating in the case even after he was spotted in a hotel in the capital port Moresby.

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'Warrant obtained upon the weight of the evidence'

“Whilst I cannot reveal any specific details at this point in time due to the sensitivity of the investigations, I can confirm that police investigators, in an ongoing investigation, applied to the district court for the arrest warrant for Mr. O’Neill which was granted last Friday,” said Acting Police Commissioner David Manning. “The warrant was obtained upon the weight of the evidence brought forward by the investigators,” Manning added.

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O’Neill's political journey since 2002

Born in 1965, in Pangia, Territory of Papua, O’Neill became a member of parliament in 2002, held several cabinet posts and also the leader of the opposition for few years. He has been the member of parliament since 2002 as he got re-elected in 2007, 2012 and 2017. O’Neill, the 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, had to resign from the post in May owing to political turmoil. He was replaced by former finance minister James Marape. 

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O'Neill became Prime Minister in 2011 after he joined the movement to unseat the then Prime Minister Michael Somare, who was ill at the moment. He was then elected to the highest post with 70 votes in favour of him out the 94 votes. But the Supreme Court held Somare as the legitimate Prime Minister which led to a Constitutional crisis. The Governor-General had to call for fresh elections as O'Neill refused to relinquish his position. In 2012, O'Neill party substantially improved its number and a broad coalition was created to claim government formation. He remained in power for a full five-year term and in 2017 general elections, O'Neill's People’s National Congress (PNC) came out as the single largest party. He held to power till May 2019 when he had to resign to avoid no-confidence motion.

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(With AP Inputs)