Open ballot; open wallet: campaigning in the Galkope

BY KELA KAPKORA SIL BOLKIN

MY FAMILY AND I departed Port Moresby for Simbu on 4 January 2012 to take our recreational leave.

Kundiawa town was dull and tired under the shadows of Monguma, Tokma, Porol, Dee Pek, Gor and the bulky landscape that surrounds it.

But many men in dirty coats and jeans were seen congregating in lanes and on street corners talking.

I think I know what these men were discussing in their small gatherings. Politics!

Women and children ran in and out of shops to buy goodies like salt, oil and soap. My family and I bought some goodies as well for our village and jumped on a PMV to get home before the usual afternoon showers came.

Upon hearing of our arrival, our tribesman and family members converged at my village home. In the evening, and for the next six weeks we talked about the pandanus kernel season, villages rugby league matches, deaths and burials, bride prices, maternal or fraternal payments (head pay), sanguma, the 2012 national election and many other hot and interesting issues probably are trivial to an outsider.

The 2012 national election discussions were paradoxically tiresome and interesting.

They took us well into the early hours of the morning every time we touched on the subject. Every Galkope I met announced the name of the candidate to whom he or she will give the first preference vote, or even votes two and three.

Then they went on to tell me why the candidate is good leader. The candidate bought them and others boxes of grog, paid school fees, slaughtered pigs during funerals, gave free rides to town, paid bride prices for all his wives, etcetera.

The Galkope tribesmen invited me to campaign houses built for the candidates they supported. I visited a few in the evenings to see what they do at night. To my surprise, these campaign houses were packed to capacity.

Eighty to ninety people frequent these campaign houses each night. All they do is gamble, chew betel nut, watch videos, freely charge mobile phones, have free dinners and occasional sex at the back.

People also congregate and talk politics at the market places and even after Sunday church service.

Once in a while some henchman of the candidate will announce that the candidate is in Australia and will return soon to see them all, when in fact he is in Port Moresby or Lae.

Almost everyone in the Galkope knows who will vote for which candidate. The candidates also know who in the Galkope will vote for them as well as those who will not.

It is no longer a secret - and so frustration and pressure are building in the candidates and, before long, the lid will burst and they will run for the caves and foreign lands again.

I realise that the Galkope seem to forget the immediate past. Such open ballots in previous elections brought fire and brimstone during the post election and people have experienced losing homes, loved ones, property and coffee gardens, but they refuse to accept the PNG constitution, which calls for secret ballots.

The 2012 intending candidates have got it wrong as well. They started campaigning and erected campaign houses three or four years ago. They have handed out cash and free goodies each time they went home and, in so doing, gave bud to a neo-cargo cult.

The people refuse to go to the gardens with their spades anymore. All they want to do is come to the feast, dine and be merry in the campaign houses in the nights and sleep during the day.

Henchman, supporters and even church workers that I talked to did not mention anything about candidates’ character, civic virtue, good governance, party policies, honesty and trustworthiness, educational background, experience or commitment to development.

I conclude that the contemporary Galkope culture will not vote on good character, civic virtue, party policies or qualifications and experience in the coming election.

All the Galkope ask for is enough moneys and bags of goodies. Furthermore, they regard the source of the money that the candidates spew around as a triviality.

Comments

[Michael Dom]

Thank you Ross, education is the key...or how do we know what's a better choice?

As for proselytizing, I believe Somare et al (1975) successfully prevented us from eating of that forbidden fruit.

Speaking of fruits, what about vegetables and meat?

Our rural majority are still marginalised in the one area that will generate income and employment and be fundamentally empowering at the grass roots level.

Need I say the 'f' word?

[Ross Wilkinson]

Sorry Barbara, but that's the way it has been done for many years. 30 years ago, there weren't the "Campaign house" as described here, but the bribery of voters was. Back then the candidates had campaign funds that they spent on beer and promises.

So what's changed? Nothing, it appears. The voters are still gullible if they fall for these false promises.

Also, the system itself is subject to abuse through the tribal culture influence on the voting system.

We initially set up a pure Westminister type system but were told that the villagers were too politically immature to understand this.

So we changed to "first past the post", that is, the candidate who secured the gretest number of first preference votes was declared the winner, whether he/she secured a majority or not. What did this mean, the candidate from the biggest village in an electorate won.

So we changed again, but still the same practices of vote buying occur. Unfortunately, political education is linked to education. Until we can raise the education standards universally across the nation, a "hell-fire and brimstone" orator will still be beaten by someone who has more money.

[Paul Oates]

Barbara, the problem with proselytizing about another way of doing things is that those expected to receive the message must have some way of understanding the concept being discussed.

The fact is that Australia was peremptorily ejected from PNG by Whitlam and Somare in 1975 before we had a proper opportunity to present and educate rural PNG people in any other political process than the traditional model (i.e. big man politics). It was clear that at the time, Somare and his elites did not want us to stay and cruel any chance he had of taking over and running the country in the way it has now developed.

Educated young PNG people must now work doubly hard to undo the current corrupt system that has been allowed to spread and inculcate the nation like a disease. What should be happening is that youth parliaments should be encouraged in all High Schools and funded by AusAID.

However who will provide the training, experience and encouragement for this to happen? Volunteers you say? Aiting yumi tupela lapun pinis liklik long wokabaut long bus tasol. But we could offer our skills and training if someone was interested in taking up the baton? Couldn’t we?

[Mrs Barbara Short]

Thanks for this excellent coverage of what is going on in Simbu as regards the coming elections.

I'm not surprised, just saddened!

What can be done to change matters?

One can see the money that should be going into maintaining schools, hospitals, police stations etc being used to buy all these bribes, food, grog, sex,videos, mobile phones,school fees,pigs for funerals,free rides to town, bride price for the politicians many wives, etc etc etc.

Simbu used to be noted for its very clever people with piles of leadership skills. Surely there could be one man or woman found who could stand up to this corrupt culture which you have described!

PNG is doomed if something can't be done to stop all this corruption which has worked its way through all levels of society.

What did the traditional society do about greed?

They need a good old fashioned "hell-fire and brimstone" orator who can stand up in the market place and condemn what is going on.

Until that happens I'm afraid Simbu is doomed.