Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Melvin Levongo
Analysis - Papua New Guinea prime Minister James Marape has sent a clear signal in the opening weeks of 2026: the Papua New Guinea Government is no longer willing to treat law and order, elections and political stability as separate challenges.
His recent statements on illegal firearms, the appointment of John Pundari as Police Minister, and the early launch of national preparations for the 2027 General Election form a connected political narrative. Together, they point to a government seeking to reassert authority - over security, over institutions, and over the conditions under which the next election will be held.
A harder line on guns
Marape's language on illegal firearms has been unusually direct. He has framed the spread of high-powered weapons not simply as a criminal justice issue, but as a fundamental challenge to the authority of the state.
"The gun must belong only to the state," he said, confirming the continuation and expansion of Operation Kumul 23, following the recent formation of the Kumul 23 police tactical response unit. References to targeted security operations, including the extraction of armed offenders, signal that the government is prepared to accept controversy in pursuit of visible enforcement outcomes.
That willing
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