Papua New Guinea PM Peter O’Neill quits after weeks of turmoil, hands leadership to Sir Julius Chan

PM’s opponents said they had mustered enough support in parliament to oust him over a range of grievances

O’Neill, who has been prime minister for seven years, has handed the leadership to former prime minister Sir Julius Chan

Reading Time:2 minutes

Published: 1:52pm, 26 May 2019Updated: 10:01pm, 26 May 2019

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill announced his resignation on Sunday after seven years in the top job, following weeks of high-level defections from the ruling party.

“I am announcing today that I am stepping down as the Prime Minister of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea,” O’Neill said in a statement.

O’Neill, who handed the reins of power to former prime minister Sir Julius Chan, said the change of leadership will allow the country to “continue the reform agenda that we have been delivering”.

O’Neill had resisted calls to resign for weeks, but his opponents said on Friday they had mustered enough support in parliament to oust him over a range of grievances including a gas deal with France’s Total, which critics have questioned.

Political instability is something of a fixture in the resource-rich but poverty-stricken South Pacific nation and O’Neill, who has been leader since 2011, has seen off previous attempts to topple him.