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PNG National Court dismisses election petition against Governor Noah Kool

 The election petition matter filed by former governor of Chimbu Province, Mr Michael Dua against  Mr Noah Kool was dismissed by the National Court in Waigani.

Article by Eric Tamaan

The petition was filed to challenge Mr. Kool's 2022 election win alleging errors and omissions during the counting process.

It was dismissed after the Court upheld a Notice of Motion filed by Mr. Kool to dismiss the proceeding for non-compliance with a Court order of November 8th, 2022 by the petitioner.

The Court order of November 8th, 2022 directed the petitioner to file and serve the affidavits that he intends to rely upon at trial, by November 22nd, 2022.

The reason for non-compliance by the petitioner is that because most of the witnesses are located in the province but are residing in different areas within the province, thus he's unable to bring them to a central location in Kundiawa for him and his lawyer to get their statements and file and serve their affidavits on time.

According to Justice Yagi, his application seeking an extension of time was delayed by about 16 days without any explanation. 

Justice Yagi ruled that there was ample time from the time the petition was filed on October 1st, 2022 up till November 22nd, to prepare and have the affidavits signed, filed, and served on the respondents.


NBC News/One PNG News


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