The Bougainnvillean presidential election of 2010 was held in Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea. The presidential contest was part of the overall general election on the island. Voting began on May 7, 2010, and ended May 24, 2010.[1] Final results for the election were announced on June 8, 2010.
Bougainville, officially the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and previously known as North Solomons, is an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea. The largest island is Bougainville Island. The region also includes Buka Island and assorted outlying nearby islands including the Carterets. The interim capital is Buka, though it is expected that Arawa will become the permanent capital in the future. The population of the region is 249,358.
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an Oceanian country that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia. Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The western half of New Guinea forms the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua.
John Momis is a politician and elected President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. Momis was sworn in as President of Bougainville on June 10, 2010 for a five-year term. He defeated his predecessor, President James Tanis, and five other challengers by a landslide in the 2010 presidential election, in which he was a candidate of the New Bougainville Party. He was reelected for a second period (2015–2020), in the general elections in May 2015.
A constitution is an aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity, and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
The President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville governs the island, which is an autonomous entity within Papua New Guinea.
This was the third presidential election since a 2001 peace agreement. (The 2005 and 2010 elections were previously scheduled, while the special 2008 presidential by-law election was held due to the death of former President Joseph Kabui.)
Joseph Canisius Kabui was a secessionist leader and the first President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, off the coast of Papua New Guinea, from 2005 to 2008. He was also the leader of the Bougainville People's Congress.
The presidential election was held simultaneously with the legislative general election. More than three-quarters of all incumbent members of the Bougainvillean House of Representatives were defeated in their re-election bids.[3]
Election background
Incumbent President James Tanis, a former separatist leader in the Bougainville Revolutionary Army, had been elected president in an early 2008 presidential by-election following the unepected death of former President Joseph Kabui in June 2008. Kabui's death forced the by-election just 18 months before the scheduled presidential election in 2010.[4] Tanis was elected to serve as president for the remainder of Kabui's term. He sought re-election in 2010.
James Tanis is a politician in Papua New Guinea who was elected President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in 2008 following the death of Joseph Kabui while in office, serving the remainder of the term from 2009 to 2010. He was previously the Vice President of the Bougainville People's Congress.
The Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) was formed in 1988 by Bougainvilleans seeking independence from Papua New Guinea (PNG). The leader of the BRA was Francis Ona who led the BRA against the Papua New Guinea Defence Force during the violent 10 year conflict. Not all the BRA were agreeable to the Peace Treaty and boycotted it and have been holding and living in an official no-go zone, protected by members of the Meekamui Defence Force whose current Commander is Moses Pepino.
By-elections, also spelled bye-elections, are used to fill elected offices that have become vacant between general elections.
Voter rolls were updated for the 2010 general election. 134,279 voters were registered to vote in the election.[5] According to the updated voter lists, North Bougainville had the highest number of eligible voters, with 57,979 registered voters;[5] followed by 48,652 voters in South Bougainville[5] and 27,648 voters in Central Bougainville.[5]
South Bougainville remains the most politically unstable region of the island, with fourteen separate, armed militias operating in the area.[3] Violence in southern Bougainville had decreased during James Tanis' presidency.[3]
Candidates
Seven candidates contested the 2010 presidential election, including incumbent James Tanis.[6] The number was down significantly from the fourteen candidates who ran during the 2008 presidential by-election.[6]
Martin Miriori - resident of Central Bougainville[6] Miriori is the older brother of former Bougainville President Joseph Kabui, who died in 2008.[6] He was a former international spokesperson for the Bougainville separatist movement.[6]
James Tanis - resident of Central Bougainville.[6] Tanis, the incumbent President of Bougainville first elected in 2008, was running for re-election to a full term. He was a former fighter and leader within the Bougainville Revolutionary Army during the civil war.
Magdalene Toroansi - resident of Central Bougainville.[6] Toroansi was the only female candidate in the 2010 presidential election.[6] She gave up her seat in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville parliament, a seat which had been specifically reserved for a woman, to contest the presidential election.[6] Toroansi had represented the Central Kieta constituency of Central Bougainville.[8]
Election results
Early election returns predicted a tight race between the two frontrunners, President James Tanis and challenger John Momis. Both candidates initially led in early counting.[9]
The earliest results, which were reported from Central Bougainville, gave President Tanis a clear lead over the other candidates, with Tanis' 1405 votes leading all other candidates, including Reuben Siara, who placed second with 495 votes.[10] However, as more areas of the island were reported, Momis was able to significantly cut into Tannis lead. On May 27, Tanis lead Momis by just 268 votes, with 5,226 votes to Momis' 4,958.[11] By June 2, Momis had overtaken Tanis and the other candidates, leading his nearest rival, President James Tanis, by more than 8,000 votes.[12]
On Tuesday, June 8, 2010, at 2:30p.m. John Momis was declared the winner and president-elect of Bougainville.[13] Momis won 43,047 votes, or 52.35% of the total votes cast in the election.[13] The incumbent, President James Tanis, earned an estimated 17,205 votes.[13] Momis won the popular vote in both South Bougainville and Tanis' home region of Central Bougainville.[3]
In his victory speech, Momis thanked Tanis for his service and pledged to continue successful programs by the Tanis government.[13] Momis stated that his administration would focus on good governnance, the disposal of ordnance and weapons, education and health.[14] He also pledged "zero tolerance approach" to corruption, stated that less than 25% of incumbent members of the House of Representatives had been re-elected to office due to voter disgust with corruption and mismanagement in government.[15]
President James Tanis thanked Bougainvillean voters and pledged to support President-elect Momis during the transition of government.[13]
The new government, with Momis' full cabinet, was to be sworn-in on Tuesday, June 15, 2010.[13][18]
Analysts view Momis as more in favor of continued autonomy and continued integration with Papua New Guinea,[3] while Momis' predecessor, James Tanis, supported full independence.[3] During the presidential campaign, Tanis had stated, "There has been a growing opinion that the bottom line is independence. If this mine (Panguna) funded PNG independence in 1975, then it can fund Bougainville autonomy and independence."[19]
Bougainville is a province of Papua New Guinea. It was named after the French navigator Louis Antoine de Bougainville.
Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) is a mining company of Papua New Guinea (PNG) that is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). BCL operated the copper, gold and silver mine at Panguna in central Bougainville in PNG from 1971 to 1989. Mining operations were officially halted on 15 May 1989, due to militant activity and the mine has remained closed since.
Bougainville Independence Movement (BIM) was a political party in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, of eastern Papua New Guinea.
The Bougainville People's Congress was a pro-independence organisation and later political party in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.
New Bougainville Party (NBP) is a political party in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.
John Tabinaman was the Acting President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea, from 7 June 2008 to 6 January 2009.
Peter Sobby Tsiamalili was the Papua New Guinean civil servant who served as the first chief administrator of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ABG) following successful elections in June 2005. Tsiamalili also served as a diplomat and ambassador representing Papua New Guinea abroad in Fiji and Belgium.
Presidential elections were held in Bougainville from November 30 to December 18, 2008. Voters elected the new President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, following the death of President Joseph Kabui while in office, on June 7.
Sam Akoitai, born 5 May 1961 in Bougainville, is a Papua New Guinean politician, a member of the United Resources Party.
Ezekiel Massat is a Bougainvillean lawyer and politician. Massat was appointed the Vice President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville by President James Tanis on January 19, 2009. Bougainville is an autonomous region within Papua New Guinea.
Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in Bougainville from 6 May to 21 May 2010. Results were expected on 9 June 2010.
Patrick Nisira is a Bougainvillean politician. He was Vice President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville under President John Momis from 10 June 2010 to 22 February 2017.
The Bougainville Civil War, also known as the Bougainville conflict, was a multi-layered armed conflict fought from 1988 to 1998 in the North Solomons Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) between PNG and the secessionist forces of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), and between the BRA and other armed groups on Bougainville. The conflict was described by John Momis as the largest conflict in Oceania since the end of World War II in 1945, with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Bougainvilleans dead.
The 2015 presidential and parliamentary election was held in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville between 11 May and 25 May 2015.
Timothy Masiu is a Papua New Guinean politician. He has been a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2016, representing the electorate of South Bougainville Open for the People's Progress Party (2016–2017) and National Alliance Party (2017–present).
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