Citizenship status of all 111 MPs to be examined amid parliamentary crisis

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Papua New Guinea is facing a parliamentary crisis after accusations that the prime minister, Peter O’Neill, holds Australian citizenship.

PNG’s attorney general, Alfred Manasseh, has announced an investigation into the citizenship status of all 111 MPs to determine if any hold dual citizenship, which would disqualify them from holding public office or even being able to vote in the country’s elections.

The investigation was prompted by an accusation from the opposition MP Bryan Kramer that O’Neill held both Papua New Guinean and Australian citizenship, though he offered no direct evidence.

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Kramer told Guardian Australia he had multiple sources who had informed him that O’Neill had Australian citizenship.

“Our laws require that people with dual citizenship, just like in Australia, are not allowed to hold office,” he said. “That would confirm that he is disqualified from being PM and an MP.”

The only way to be sure of O’Neill’s citizenship was “to get an official letter saying that he is not now, and has never been, an Australian citizen”, Kramer said.

O’Neill has issued a statement denying that he is a citizen of any country but PNG, calling the story “fake news”.

“I have never had any other [citizenship] except PNG by birth,” he said. He maintained he was born in a remote village on the border of the Gulf and Southern Highlands provinces.

“I am very proud that my people there took care of me. I don’t need any other citizenship to justify who I am.”

The attorney general said it was important to conduct an investigation of all MPs because the rules on dual citizenship were relatively new, and some might “inadvertently” hold citizenship of other countries.

“The prime minister does not have dual citizenship, that’s the advice I’ve received from the prime minister, but we will do the investigation,” Manasseh said.

He told the ABC: “As soon as we check, if we find they have not renounced their dual citizenship, we will take appropriate action to disqualify them from holding the office of member of parliament.”

The Australian Department of Home Affairs, which is responsible for citizenship inquiries, did not respond to questions about O’Neill’s citizenship, saying the department did not comment on individual cases.

The case could turn into an echo of the citizenship crisis that engulfed Australian politics in 2016-17, in which 15 sitting MPs and senators were disqualified for holding dual citizenship.

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The development comes at a precarious time in Papua New Guinean politics, after the recent resignations of a number of high-profile ministers.

These ministers have joined ranks with the opposition, which announced it would call a vote of no-confidence in the prime minister in early May.

Before the vote could be held, the prime minister adjourned parliament for three weeks.

Kramer said that when it resumed on 28 May the opposition would table a no-confidence motion in the prime minister.

Late on Monday, James Marape, the opposition’s candidate for prime minister, announced he was withdrawing from the position, leaving the question open of who would become prime minister if O’Neill were voted out.