In a unanimous decision this morning, the Supreme Court ruled that Opposition Leader Douglas Tomuriesa has the legal standing to bring the motion of no-confidence vote to court. The decision was handed down at 9:50 am. Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika led the five-member bench in delivering the ruling. Present in court were Deputy Opposition Leader James Nomane, SineSine Yongumugl MP Kerenga Kua, Alternate Prime Minister nominee Rainbo Paita, and several other opposition members. During the proceedings, Greg Sheppard, senior counsel for Tomuriesa, informed the court that an objection to competency had been filed by Attorney General Pila Niningi. The court deemed this objection a last-minute maneuver, filed and served just the previous afternoon. The bench clarified that the issue at hand was about legal standing, not the merits of the application. Legal counsel for the Speaker of Parliament faced criticism for submitting extracts of their arguments without prior court permission, which Chief Justice Salika described as contemptuous, given that consensual directions required earlier filing.
Throughout the morning, the judges persistently asked both the Speaker's and Attorney General's counsels to provide a single reason why Tomuriesa lacked legal standing. When the Speaker's counsel described Tomuriesa as a "busy body," Chief Justice Salika reminded him that as Opposition Leader, Tomuriesa has a duty to address national matters, such as the Vote of No-Confidence. Attorney General's legal counsel, Dane Mel, argued that the rules and processes of the Vote of No-Confidence motion had already been established in a previous case (Polye vs. Zurenoc, 2016). However, Justice David Cannings noted that this argument delved into the merits of the case, which the Opposition Leader contended may have been breached in the current motion. Following over an hour of deliberation, the court reserved its ruling for this morning, with the final decision announced at 9:30 am. Outside the court, Tomuriesa called for public calm and respect for the judicial process, expressing confidence in his legal team's handling of the case. He thanked his colleagues and supporters, urging the people of Papua New Guinea to stand strong for the nation's future. Also read
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