A former Papua New Guinea prime minister Sir Mekere Morauta has gained the lead in the vote count for the Moresby Northwest electorate.
Sir Mekere Morauta Photo: linkedin
Early election results are taking shape for the 111 seats in the national parliament.
The People's National Congress already has more seats than other parties.
But its sitting MP in Moresby Northwest is on track for defeat, well down the list headed by Sir Mekere, slightly ahead of another independent candidate Lohia Boe Samuel.
The former Morobe governor Luther Wenge, who like Sir Mekere is seeking a return to parliament after a term outside, is in the lead for his province's regional seat.
Elsewhere in Morobe, the speaker of parliament Theo Zurenuoc from the ruling People's National Congress party has a slim lead in Finschhafen over the Pangu Party's Renbo Paita.
Meanwhile, the mining minister Byron Chan, a member of the People's Progress Party, has lost his seat in Namatanai to the National Alliance candidate Walter Schnaubelt.