Papua New Guinea parliament chief proposes election delay

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - The speaker of Papua New Guinea's (PNG) parliament proposed to delay general elections in the country beyond 2022 for a year, according to local media.

Job Pomat underlined that the Electoral Commission is not yet ready for an election, reported the daily Post Courier.

The pacific island nation is set to hold its tenth general election next year to elect 111 lawmakers for a five-year term in parliament.

The last parliamentary elections were held in 2017.

Pomat received support from other lawmakers, who referred to rising coronavirus-related deaths in the island nation, according to the report.

However, Prime Minister James Marape said the "law does not allow" the deferment of elections and promised to give financial support to the commission to hold the elections.

The country has reported 24,041 COVID-19 cases, including 266 deaths with a recent rise in infections.