Re-elected Papua New Guinea leader promises reform after polling fraud claims

James Marape pledged to make Papua New Guinea the “richest black Christian nation on Earth” by the end of the decade
James Marape pledged to make Papua New Guinea the “richest black Christian nation on Earth” by the end of the decade
ANDREW KUTAN/GETTY IMAGES

James Marape has been re-elected prime minister of Papua New Guinea in an election plagued by violence, delays, fraud allegations and large numbers of voters missing from the electoral roll.

Scores of people were killed and injured during the election campaign, which also ended a five-year absence of women from parliament, between July 4 and 22.

Tribal violence claimed 18 lives in a single incident at Porgera town in the Highlands region, the site of a disputed gold mine that has been closed for two years.

The Porgera death toll in the past four months is now 70, according to a report in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier.

In another politically motivated attack, a machete-wielding gang chased two victims outside a counting centre, leaving