PORT MORESBY: Papua New Guinea's political deadlock with two competing prime ministers edged closer to a resolution on Tuesday with the country's governor-general saying he incorrectly reinstated Sir Michael Somare as leader.
Governor-General Michael Ogio said he now recognised Peter O'Neill as prime minister and that his administration was the legitimate government of the resource-rich South Pacific nation.
PNG has been in the grip of a political deadlock since last week, with both Somare and O'Neill claiming to be prime minister, forcing extra police to be flown into the capital Port Moresby to ensure law and order.
At stake is control over PNG's booming resource sector revenue, led by US oil giant ExxonMobil's $15.7 billion LNG project due to come on stream in 2014. Elections are due in June.
"I now recognise the O'Neill group as the legitimate government," said Ogio, adding his earlier legal advice supporting Somare's reinstatement was incorrect.
Ogio represents Britain's Queen Elizabeth, Papua New Guinea's head of state under the Commonwealth.
But Somare was defiant, issuing a statement saying he remained prime minister, despite O'Neill controlling an overwhelming parliamentary majority.
"My minority government does not want to see this country being led by members of parliament that use sheer numbers to hijack processes in parliament and trample all over our constitution," said Somare.
"The pattern of intimidation used at the highest level, Government House leaves my government speechless."
The Supreme Court last week ordered the immediate reinstatement of Somare as prime minister, ruling O'Neill had taken power illegally in August while Somare, 75, was overseas for heart treatment.
O'Neill, 45, refused to step down, saying parliament had elected him prime minister.
"Parliament is supreme. It alone can decide who is prime minister," Ogio told the National newspaper in Port Moresby.
"It is now time for MPs to join together on the floor of parliament and let the normal democratic process takes its course," he said.
For many Papua New Guineans, the crisis is a contest between the old political guard of Somare -- known as "The Chief" who led the country to independence -- and O'Neill's administration, which is seen offering a fresh, more open alternative.
Corruption is endemic in PNG. Transparency International ranks it 154th out of 182 on its global corruption index. PNG is a nation struggling to unify more than 800 language groups and is often plunged into bloody tribal clashes.
Despite its wealth of resources, the majority of PNG's seven million people eke out subsistence livings in villages clinging to jungle-clad mountainsides.
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