By Edwin Fidelis – EMTV News, Kokopo
The national elections may have been over in most parts of Papua New Guinea but in Kokopo, the end of the elections have made way for the start of a court battle between two veteran politicians; Sir Leo Dion and Nakikus Konga.
Both men completed the race for the East New Britain’s Governor seat in a relatively close finish, with Nakikus Konga ousting Sir Leo Dion. But the former Governor wasn’t happy about the results of the final counting. He filed an election petition in October 2017 against his successor.
Sir Leo Dion claimed in the election petition that there were errors and omissions during the counting of the provincial ballot boxes and also, that the returning officer and his assistant were not gazetted by the electoral office.
Yesterday afternoon, the petition went before Justice Collin Makail in a pre-hearing trial for the court to verify if Sir Leo Dion’s claim against Nakikus Konga were true or not. Justice Makail has given two days for the pre-hearing to allow the lawyers for the two politicians to make submission before the court.
A ruling is expected to be made tomorrow if whether or not the petition will go into a trial or be dismissed.
