Political office, especially being a Member of the National Parliament or “MP”, seems to be the pinnacle of achievements in someone’s life.

Well that seems to be the way many Papua New Guineans treat it by leaving their esteemed professions or callings in life to contest for seats in Parliament in the national elections. Many professionals leave their esteemed careers and stable family lives to return to their electorates and contest in a national elections without really appreciating the dynamics and peculiarities in the district or province.

Such candidates find it challenging to play the game of politics at the electorate because it is definitely different from what is stated in a political science textbook or what is supposed to be the norm in a democracy.

There is no doubt, established professionals would resign from their esteemed professional positions or callings in life and contest the coming national elections in 2022.

There would be academics, medical doctors, pilots, engineers, accountants, administrators, business people, technicians, clergy and others who would leave their esteemed full-time professions to context the coming national election.

It is the democratic right of every citizen, as long as one meets the criteria, to contest for any political office and make a contribution toward the political discourse of our country.

Elected political office does not have a specific training or educational pathway of its own like other trades and professions.

The candidates for the elected public offices thus come from other professions, trades and calling in life.

Elected political offices depend on the choices of electors during a sanctioned election in a given jurisdiction, be it the ward, local level government area, district or a province.

We have three tiers of government (national, provincial and local level) and members of each of them have to be voted into office although there is allowance for nominated members in the second and third tiers.

Given that they are time-bound “elected” offices, the eligible voters make their choices and cast votes and the winner of the majority of the votes cast becomes the elected politician.

It is then up to the elected politician to perform his or her duties as expected by law and the voters and seek re-election in the next election. The voters will then make a choice whether to cast majority of the votes to the serving elected politician or chose someone else. Here is where it gets pretty messy, especially in the quest for a seat in the National Parliament in many electorates, where serving MPs and their supporters act as though they “own” the seats. They go out of their ways to do any and everything within their means to seek re-election.

In the determination to seek re-election, many of the sitting MPs and their supporters easily forget that, the elected office in Parliament is a temporary sojourn for someone that has standing and heart to be an

elected representative that is chosen by the voters to represent them. They tend to forget that the position of MP is not a permanent employment.

This is where many of our well-educated and better off professionals get themselves entangled and some of them end by tainted by it, lose credibility and their achievements and the manner in which politics is approached in PNG, people get too personal about it. I do not mean to suggest PNG politics is a no go zone for professional citizens. They will continue to have place in it. I would want to see elected political office as a space for those who have a calling in the manner in which they carry themselves in a daily basis in life.

The manner in which the game of politics is played, especially for the seats in the National Parliament, can be pretty nasty for some of our professionals depending on the political and cultural dynamics of a given electorate and the characters involved.

I have observed many elections over the years and it takes me aback to see well-established professionals who do so well in their field of expertise and even being at the pinnacle of their careers in Papua New Guinea or overseas, resign to the contest the national election and fail. I do not want to name the professions, as some might feel I am picking on them and thereby questioning their democratic rights.

I prefer to see professional Papua New Guineas continue to serve others in PNG and overseas from the vantage point of their career pathways and not let that go for the murky waters of PNG politics.

I also would rather see very well established businesspeople continue to serve our people and our country through their businesses and not waste their time and resources on a national election contest where they end up ‘burning’ their own money, resources and reputations.

As I have said in my previous articles, the political party system is weak in PNG and individuals such as business people pay much of the expense to contest in national elections out of their pockets and those from their relatives, wantoks and supporters. We have seen businesses of individuals who contest in the national elections go under or bust soon after they lose the contest. The rival candidates who win the seats in the national elections at times make their political nemesis, who are business people, are even made to lose business or cornered from staying in business. Is the price worth paying with your money, resources, reputation and even end up destroying your business?

The old saying “there are many ways to skin a cat” applies here for well-established professionals and business people who can still serve the public without entering elected political office.

People who have a calling in life to serve in elected political office evolve and standout in our midst. You can see them evolve and grow in their abilities, communications skills and engagement with the public.

These sorts of persons can be gainfully employed in the public service or the private sector both here and observes. They can also be found among our business people. As constituents and voters it is our right then to identify such individuals and ask them to contest in an election because of the character we seem them display over time.

Elected political office is not for our tribesman who has excelled in his or her career and private business and the next thing we think for him or her is to contest in the national election. This is where some of us get it wrong and destroy the careers and businesses of our wantoks. There are many examples out there, where those of you reading this can attest to in your own electorates.

The point to take serious not is this. Elected political office is not everyone’s cup of tea – remember that.

It is for gifted individuals who evolve over time in an electorate and demonstrate leadership equitable skills and attributes. Elected political office is therefore not the pinnacle of achievement of one’s life.