Peter Tsiamalili Jr Photo: Supplied
The former sports administrator Peter Tsiamalili Jr has won the election for the Bougainvile regional seat in Papua New Guinea's parliament.
After the counting of preference votes, Tsiamalili finished on top of the count with 37,534 votes, ahead of runner up Simon Dumarinu on 34,790 votes.
Albert Punghau finished third with 19,045 votes.
Tsiamalili was declared as the member-elect by the Provincial Returning Officer, Alwyn Jimmy, at the Hutjena Count centre in Buka last night.
The regional seat was made vacant when Joe Lera resigned to contest the Bougainville presidency last year, an election won by former militant leader Ishmael Toroama.
Toroama is now leading negotiations with PNG's national government over Bougainville's political future, after 2019's landslide support for such a move in an independence referendum.
Tsiamalili, a former PNG Sports Foundation Chief Executive Officer, finished third in the election for the presidency last year. He promptly threw his support in behind Toroama who in turn backed him for the election for the regtional seat.
Tsiamalili finished third in that presidential race and said, now, with the backing of the man who did win, Ishmael Toroama, he sees the role as a public relations one for Bougainville at the national level.
Speaking to RNZ Pacific in December, Tsiamalili described the regional role as one of being a conduit for the Autonomous Bougainville Government within the PNG national system.
"Kind of being more like a spokesperson for the president and having an insight into the national parliament. And then obviously getting the north, central and south working together with that member - and that's my view."
Peter Tsiamalili Jr is also the son of a noted former Bougainville administrator who went on to be a prominent PNG diplomat.