Door still open for MPs who left, says PNG ruling party

Papua New Guinea's ruling party says MPs who recently left to join the opposition are still welcome to return.

Around 15 MPs left Prime Minister Peter O'Neill's People's National Congress party in the last few weeks, disillusioned with the leadership.

While at least one of the MPs has since re-joined the government, the opposition has been bolstered as it prepares for a vote of no confidence against Mr O'Neill next month.

The PNC's general secretary, Dom David Kua, said he is yet to receive formal letters of resignation from the MPs who left

But he said there is an open door and these MPs can come back.

"They're members of the party. They just left, they left and went to the other side. That's ok. They've got their own interests which they want to pursue. But if they can't achieve what they want, and they want to come back... I'm yet to receive the letter so, I mean, the door is open for them to come back."

A number of the party's leading MPs, including senior government ministers, pressed Mr O'Neill to resign in a caucus meeting last month. He refused, triggering more resignations.

Mr O'Neill, last week, said that the party had a process for addressing leadership ambitions, and that 2021, a year before the next election, would be a chance for succession discussions.

Echoing this, Mr Kua said that it was up to the people of PNG at election time to determine whether the prime minister should stay on.

"Nobody else for that matter, the opposition or anyone within the caucus can ask him to stand down," he said.

"We have to groom young ones, and take care of all, and feed them into where they're supposed to be. But what's happened down is that the young guns have shot themselves in the foot."

The party has around 28 MPs now, still the key grouping in the 111-seat parliament. However the political environment is fluid, with more defections a possibility before the confidence vote.