Pangu Pati

Template:Short description Template:Infobox political party The Pangu Pati (Pangu Party), officially Papua na Niugini Yunion PatiTemplate:Efn (Template:Lit),Template:Efn is a nationalist<ref name=Nikkei>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=DFAT/> and developmentalist<ref name=DFAT/><ref name=Seminar>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> political party in Papua New Guinea. The party is the oldest political party in Papua New Guinea and has held all levels of government throughout its history. As of 2023, it is the largest party in the National Parliament.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

History

The Pangu Pati was established on 13 June 1967,<ref name=Home>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Emergence/> in order to contest the elections of 1968 (Papua and New Guinea).<ref name=Emergence>Template:Cite journal</ref> At the time of its founding, the party stood-out as its ideals were for a political unification of Papua and New Guinea, stronger economic development and to grow the national income.<ref name=Home/> Other parties, such as the United Christian Democratic Party (UCDP), were in favour of Australian statehood.<ref name=Emergence/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although the party, and its candidates, were not in a formal political union, there were ten candidates of Pangu that were elected to the House of Assembly.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The 1972 election, the last under Australian authority, saw Pangu-endorsed candidates win eighteen seats, with a total of pro-Pangu candidates reaching twenty-six.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Somare later served as Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea as the leader of the Pangu Party from 1972 to 1980 and from 1982 to 1985. In 1985, Paias Wingti led a faction of the party to split with Somare, and Wingti won a no-confidence vote against Somare, succeeding him as prime minister. In 1988, Somare was replaced as leader of Pangu by Rabbie Namaliu who served as prime minister from 1988 to 1992. Somare would then become leader of the National Alliance Party.

At the 2002 elections, the party won 6 of 109 seats, under the leadership of Chris Haiveta. After that election, Somare returned to power as prime minister. Pangu became a member of his coalition government, and continued to support the Somare government after the 2007 elections, in which Pangu won 5 seats.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

It won only one seat at the 2012 election, that of Angoram MP Ludwig Schulze, but was left unrepresented when Schulze died in March 2013.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In August 2014, Deputy Opposition Leader Sam Basil crossed to Pangu and reactivated its parliamentary wing, taking on the leadership.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The party's numbers increased to two in August 2015 when William Samb won a by-election in Goilala Open, then to nine following the 2017 elections.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

At the 2022 elections, Pangu won a decisive first-place showing, its best since 1982, with 39 seats.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> James Marape, who had defected from the previously largest party, the PNC, to Pangu, continued his tenure as Prime Minister. This followed several other defections from the PNC to Pangu, largely attributed to the protracted crisis of leadership under Prime Minister O'Neill.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Electoral results

National Parliament

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Government
1977	Michael Somare	Template:N/A	35% (#1)	Template:Composition bar	New	Template:Yes2
1982		colspan=2 Template:N/A	Template:Composition bar	Template:Increase 21	Template:Yes2
1987		408,082	14.93 (#1)	Template:Composition bar	Template:Decrease 25	Template:No2
1992	Rabbie Namaliu	294,738	9.33 (#1)	Template:Composition bar	Template:Decrease 4	Template:No2
1997	Chris Haiveta	237,028	5.31 (#3)	Template:Composition bar	Template:Decrease 9	Template:No2
2002		colspan=2 rowspan=3 Template:N/A	Template:Composition bar	Template:Decrease 7	Template:No2
2007		Template:Composition bar	Template:Decrease 1	Template:Yes2
2012	Andrew Kumbakor	Template:Composition bar	Template:Decrease 4	Template:No2
2017	Sam Basil	322,049	4.08 (#4)	Template:Composition bar	Template:Increase 8	Template:Yes2
2022	James Marape	colspan=2 Template:N/A	Template:Composition bar	Template:Increase 30	Template:Yes2

Further reading

• Template:Cite book