POLITICAL PARTIES INTEGRITY BILL NOT ANTI DEFECTION: AG
Solomon Islands Attorney General Billy Titiulu. Photo credit: PNG Edge.
The Attorney General of Solomon Islands Billy Titiulu says the Political Party Integrity Bill is not an anti defection law.
Mr Titiulu made the comments following a question raised by the leader of Independent John Maneniaru who questioned if the Bill is constitutional.
“This Bill is not an anti defection law, where once you joined a group you cannot move out. An attempt to do that in PNG, just for you to resign from one political party to join another was held to be unconstitutional, why because they will investigate the reasons why you left the party. So looking at the provisions, how is it that if we hold back those wanting to resign you ar going to create a situation where it will be purely unconstitutional.”
He adds the objective of the bill is to regularise political parties and recognise independent MPs.
“I think the objective of this Bill is that it regularises those parties who wants to become political parties and at the same time recognise Mr Chirman that you may run as a candidate in the election, but you don’t agree with a certain political party’s policies or their ideas, you just want to be independent and you run.”
SIBC News understands, the Bill will be taken to the Committee stage again tomorrow as deliberations today could not complete the process.