One of the oldest political parties formed prior to independence over 50 years ago now has a new parliamentary leader following the recent passing of the founder of the party and the last man standing, late Sir Julius Chan. This is the People’s Progress Party (PPP), established in the late 1960s, it is the longest serving political party in Papua New Guinea (PNG), and this afternoon in Port Moresby city, the Opposition Leader and Member for Kiriwina- Goodenough, Douglas Tomuriesa, was announced as the newly appointed Leader. The Leader said the first thing is the restructuring of the party to ensure the party aligns itself with the expectations of the people. “We’ll restructure the party; we’ll make sure that the party policies go in line with a lot of great parties we have in the Opposition and the policies that will drive this nation the way the people of Papua New Guinea want it to be. So, we’ll realign the policies of the party in few months' time. I have had wonderful discussions with the party executives in the past week, and we are prepared to prepare the party’s policies and guidelines heading forward. Our focus will be 2027 (national election) and that focus will be working very closely with other party leaders in the Opposition and friends in the government as well,” said Tomuriesa. Mr. Tomuriesa thanked the family of the late Sir Julius Chan for their blessing and support for him to take on the role of their late father. He also thanked the PPP executives and supports across PNG for the support and vowed to do his very best in leading this party going forward. The Leader also thanked the Registrar of Political Parties for fast-tracking his appointment as the new Leader of the People’s Progress Party.