A triumphant Sir Michael Somare, the country’s former leader, has said he will present himself to the governor-general and take the oath of office.
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the election of O’Neill to the prime ministership by a parliamentary vote of 70-24 on August 2 was unconstitutional and ordered Sir Michael to again serve as head of the government.
In doing so, Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia indicated contempt charges will be laid against O’Neill and his lawyer following a last ditch application on Friday to remove the three-year veteran of the Supreme Court before he had handed down his judgment.
The Supreme Court was also expected to hand down a contempt judgment on O’Neill’s Deputy PM Belden Namah and Attorney General Alan Marat, after the pair tried to suspend the chief justice in November.
The 3-2 decision by the five-man bench triggered a tense standoff at Government House, where police officers armed with automatic rifles and shotguns kept O’Neill’s retinue from entering.
At a news conference Monday night, Sir Michael called on the public to remain calm.
“The judiciary has once again upheld our constitution,” he said.
“My government followed process and waited for the appropriate authority, the judiciary, to make its judgment.”
The standoff at Government House reportedly escalated to brawls, and automatic gunfire was heard just streets away. There have been no reports of injuries, however.
As of 12.30 a.m., O’Neill’s supporters were at Parliament House after being denied an audience with Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio.
As the court decision was handed down, the O’Neill government passed a series of retrospective amendments legalizing their decision to dump Sir Michael from his post as PM and from his East Sepik electorate, which he has held for 43 years.
Sir Michael said he will hold an early morning cabinet meeting at the Ela Beach Hotel in Port Moresby before going to Government House to be sworn in.
A confidence vote in O’Neill last week passed by an overwhelming majority, while 69 out of 109 MPs voted Monday to reinstate him as PM.
Sir Michael’s attorney general, Sir Arnold Amet, said there are provisions in PNG’s constitution for minority government rule.
He said he expected MPs to re-evaluate their positions after the governor-general swears in Sir Michael.
