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Bougainville region elects new president
Australian Associated Press - December 29, 2008
Papua New Guinea's autonomous Bougainville region has elected James Tanis as its new president. Tanis claimed victory in this month's by-election vote after former president Joseph Kabui died from a heart attack in June this year.
PNG's Post Courier newspaper reported Tanis scored close to 2,000 votes more than second highest polling candidate Sam Akoitai.
The island of Bougainville spent nearly a decade during the 1980s and 1990s fighting a civil war with PNG after central Bougainville landowners' shut down the massive Panguna copper mine. It also established a secessionist movement pushing Bougainville towards becoming an independent state.
Tanis was a key player in forging the 2001 peace agreement but Bougainville remains plagued by heavy weapons, fractured infighting and simmering tensions from years of conflict and neglect.
Bougainville's election were considered to have had a poor voter turnout with some regional voting restricted by heavily armed road blocks and ongoing local disputes.
One complaint was that general elections will be held in 18 months time, when the presidency will be up for grabs again. As well, many Bougainvilleans complained their names were not on election rolls.
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