The Opposition yesterday submitted the Vote of No Confidence (VONC) motion against the prime minister to the office of the Speaker of Parliament in the hope that other Members of Parliament (MPs) see the real reason behind their move and switch sides to support them. In a press conference held in the afternoon after the first parliament sitting of 2024, the Opposition team said the VONC now opens up a pathway for MPs in the government side of the house to make the right decision and put the interest of their people first, and join the Opposition and supporting their VONC. Former prime minister and MP for Ialibu Pangia, Peter O’Neil said they hope to convince the other MPs with this VONC, that is now in motion, to join them by telling them and the public the truth about the dealings of the prime minister and how things are being run by the current government. “We know that we don’t have the numbers today, but we need to put this motion on the floor to test, and we want every Papua New Guinean to watch their Members of Parliament and see what do they stand for,” said Mr. O’Neil. O’Neil claimed that during the term of Prime Minister James Marape, the country has experienced a lot of turmoil in terms of increase in prices of goods and services, increase in unemployment, no job creation or opportunities for the youths, crime increase and the country’s economy in recession. This he said is alarming and the only way forward is to remove Marape and have a new prime minister take the helm. Former Petroleum and Energy Minister and now current Opposition Member, Kerenga Kua, echoed O’Neil’s sentiments by saying that it’s not about the numbers of MPs to move the VONC, but it is about the reason for doing it at the first place. “We understand where we are without numbers, but the responsibility of crossing the divide, bringing the numbers in and Papua New Guinea more hope into the future, is for every sons and daughters, fathers and mothers out there in Papua New Guinea to go behind elected MPs sitting in the government side and tell them to understand what the reality is, and get the support for us.” Meanwhile, the Opposition team has the backing of two former prime ministers, one being Mr. O’Neil and the other is Sir Julius Chan, the last remaining founding fathers of the national who is still very much active in politics. The two renowned leaders pledged their undying support to the Opposition and would work with the team to remove the prime minister and bring in a new one, for the betterment of Papua New Guinea.