Papua New Guinea parliament in session. (file image) Photo: Loop PNG / Screencapture
Papua New Guinea's opposition leader has hit out at the prime minister's attempts to lure more MPs to the government side.
Last week, 13 opposition members defected, increasing James Marape's support in the House to over 90 out of 118 MPs.
Marape said the government needed the numbers not just to rule, but also to pass important reforms.
It "is the principal role of every Member of Parliament", the prime minister told the Post-Courier.
However, The National newspaper reported opposition leader Douglas Tomuriesa as saying the prime minister's recruitment drive is self-serving and misleading, given that each MP is allowed to vote however they choose.
"The only reforms Marape is interested in are ones to keep himself in power, not to serve his people," Tomuriesa was quoted as saying.
He said this is evident in Marape's failure to get two constitutional amendments passed in the last sitting of parliament because of internal divisions in the government.