The Morobe Province proved to be a Pangu Stronghold during the 2017 National General Elections.
The party, led by Sam Basil rallied support from all districts, especially from the remote parts of the province.
Pangu nominated 10 candidates to contest the 10 seats in the province.
The first seat to be declared was the Markham Open, where Pangu Candidate Koni Iguan won by 12,337 votes.
Party leader Sam Basil became the 2nd Pangu member to be declared in Morobe for the Bulolo Open, winning by 26,184 votes.
Basil said, the number of votes he got, was a result of service delivery.
The Pangu Party managed to claim four more seats in the Menyamya, Tewai/Siassi, Finchafen and Nawaeb Open, including the regional seat with Governor Ginson Saonu winning by 128, 448 votes.
Soon after, the Members were sworn into the National Parliament and the Provincial Haus Tutumang, Lae Member, John Rosso who contested the elections as an independent candidate, joined the Pangu Party.
Pangu now has eight members in Morobe, with the Huon Gulf seat taken by the National Alliance (NA) party member, Ross Seymour, and the Kabwum open seat won by Christian Democratic Party (CDP) member Patrick Bassa.
The Pangu party was a stronghold in the Opposition.
The Pangu Morobe branch’s decision to move to the government after leading a strong campaign against the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, was unexpected for many.
Despite being in the opposition more than nine years, Party Leader Sam Basil managed to deliver services to his electorate.
These include the purchase of the Spirit of Bulolo Aircraft, and the also the launch of the rural electrification program.
Both projects were funded through the District Support Improvement Program (DSIP) funds.
Morobeans are now expecting more service delivery in the Province now that their leaders are in the government.
