PNG parliament sets bar high for Bougainville's climb towards independence

Andrew Mathieson Published June 12, 2026 at 2.45pm (AWST)

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PNG's MPs debate whether to ratify Bougainville's vote for independence. Image: Russell Palmer.

Main points:

- The PNG parliamentary vote to grant Bougainville its sovereignty will require 75 per cent of MPs in favour

- A two-thirds threshold is usually the requirement for constitutional amendments

- The 2019 referendum in Bougainville returned nearly 98 percent support for independence among residents

The path to independence for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville has been made more steep than expected by Papua New Guinea's national parliament.

The ratification process - the parliamentary vote to grant Bougainville its sovereignty in the Port Moresby chamber - will demand the highest possible threshold at the upcoming vote this year.

Many democratic states treat territorial secession as a constitutional amendment-level decision, requiring a legislative supermajority - that is, greater than at least three-fifths of the parliament - to pass the motion.

PNG adopted the formal sessional order on Wednesday, after MPs overwhelmingly had voted in support of the motion.

The sessional order has permitted the parliament to consider the result of the 2019 referendum in Bougainville where nearly 98 percent of the non-binding vote favoured independence.

But the parliament speaker has controversially announced that the ratification vote will be three-quarters of the MPs and not the expected two-thirds threshold required for other constitutional amendments by the state.

The ruling from Job Pomat - the speaker since 2017 - has prompted accusations of a lack of consultation with the political process in Bougainville from Port Moresby.

The Minister of Bougainville Affairs, Manasseh Makiba, introduced the sessional order to allow the parliament to divert from standing orders to formally consider Bougainville's independence.

Mr Makiba said members of the parliament will have to make the "most consequential decisions in the country's history".

The order had been developed by speakers of the PNG parliament and the regional parliament of Bougainville.

The three-quarter absolute majority requirement has drawn scathing criticism from Bougainville government vice-president Ezekiel Massat.

"Today's events confirm that there is a (PNG) national government strategy to poison the waters and make it impossible to come close to reach the voting threshold," he said.

"The national government strategy now reduces the MA (Melanesian Agreement) framework to nothing but an academic exercise."

Sir Puka Temu, a former minister of Bougainville Affairs, now an opposition MP, also questioned where the new threshold absolute majority had come from the government.

"Looks like you have done your job without further consulting your counterpart in Bougainville," Sir Temu said to the speaker of the parliament.

"The only provision in the constitution where three-quarter absolute majority is required is when the parliament is voting for a boundary change.

"No other provision in the constitution requires us to vote for a three-quarter absolute majority - where is this coming from?"

Prime Minister James Marape responded by saying that both parties - Bougainville and Port Moresby - shook hands in the sessional agreement to the three-quarter threshold.

"This is already clear; both governments are clear," Mr Marape reportedly said in the Tok Pisin creole language.

"We will have another meeting in July."

Mr Marape emphasised that the process around the referendum outcome was in its final stage and that PNG would continue to adhere to the Bougainville Peace Agreement provisions.

The peace deal between PNG and Bougainville was signed in 2001 after a brutal civil conflict that was conducted throughout the 1990s where more than 15,000 people, including civilians, died that was triggered partly by disputes over the Panguna copper mine in Bou gainville and further land rights on the island.

"As to what date we will bring this vote to parliament, I have proposed the August 30, but both sides will (need to) agree," Mr Marape added.

The sessional order also allows the parliament to deliberate further on the referendum result and a related consultation report before further debate from MPs ahead of the ensuing vote.