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Bougainville MPs convert House of Representatives into a Constituent Assembly
The next phase in Bougainville's transition from autonomy to independence has begun after parliamentarians passed a motion Thursday to convert the autonomous region's House of Representatives into a Constituent Assembly, the Bougainville government says.
The motion, tabled by President Ishmael Toroama, was unanimously passed by Bougainville's legislators in Arawa, a week after high-level independence moderation talks were held in Port Moresby.
The Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) said the conversion of the House of Representatives into the Bougainville Constituent Assembly sets the stage for the deliberation and adoption of Bougainville's Independence Constitution, a critical step towards self-governance.
While Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape has said that Bougainville needs focus on economic readiness ahead of its political status, Toroama said it was a historical day in Bougainville's political journey to independence.
"This day marks the departure from being autonomous to independence status," he said.
He said it was the day Bougainvilleans had been waiting for.
"The Bougainville House of Representatives [serves] as the legitimate representative institution to materialise 97.7 percent vote for independence chosen through the constitutionally guaranteed referendum.
"Let us be clear...that this motion signals the political journey for Bougainville moving to independence status."
Bougainville's Attorney-General and Minister for Bougainville Independence Mission Implementation Ezekiel Masatt said the conversion was necessary.
It would ensure the Assembly could effectively deal with matters relating to the new independence constitution, which is expected to be tabled later this year," he said.
Members of the Bougainville Constituent Assembly will be sworn in on Friday before convening for their first meeting at 11am (BST).
The ABG said the session will include an induction on the rules and procedures of the Constituent Assembly and a briefing on their roles.
The membership of the Constituent Assembly will include: all members of the House of Representatives, all four national MPs of parliament, three regional head commissioners of the Bougainville Constitutional Planning Commission (BCPC), and three female commissioners of the BCPC.
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