Peter O’Neill, the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, has resigned after weeks of high-level defections from his ruling party.

Mr O’Neill told a news conference in Port Moresby that recent changes to political allegiances in parliament had shown a “need for change”.

On Friday, Mr O’Neill’s opponents said they had mustered enough support in parliament to oust him over a range of grievances including dissatisfaction with Mr O’Neill’s leadership and in particular his unilateral handling of a multibillion-dollar gas deal that opponents said was a poor outcome for PNG [Papua New Guinea] .

Mr O’Neill, who has been prime minister for seven years, has handed the leadership to Sir Julius Chan.

Mr Chan (79) is a former prime minister of Papua New Guinea, having served in the top job from 1980 to 1982, as the country’s second ever prime minister, and then again from 1994 to 1997.

His second term as prime minister was controversial for his handling of the Bougainville civil war. Mr Chan’s government took out a contract with a mercenary organisation to crush separatist fighting in Bougainville, which led to widespread public protests.

Bryan Kramer, an opposition MP and one of Mr O’Neill’s most outspoken critics, said he considered the announcement a “ploy” from the prime minister to try and win back MPs who had defected from the government camp, and that he would not believe Mr O’Neill was really leaving the top job until due process had been observed.

“He’s announced he has stepped down, but we haven’t seen a resignation letter,” said Mr Kramer. The resignation will only come into effect once Mr O’Neill has visited the governor general, something Mr O’Neill said he would do in the coming days.

Writer and activist Martyn Namorong said: “Only proof of resignation of a PM is presentation of a letter of resignation to the governor general and not a media announcement.”

Mr Kramer said Mr O’Neill’s announcement was an attempt to pre-empt a vote of no confidence in the prime minister that opposition MPs would have called for when parliament resumes on Tuesday, which they say they had the numbers to win.

After Mr O’Neill visits the governor general, the vacancy for the position is announced in parliament, and there will be a vote by MPs for a replacement leader.

Mr Kramer said he was confident the opposition bloc, known as the Laguna Camp, had the numbers to elect a member of their group to the top job.

“Assuming the resignation goes through, we will have 63 [MPs on their side, compared with the government’s 48 MPs], whoever we decide on as our nominee, which is a decision that hasn’t been made yet, will be the next prime minister,” said Kramer. “It will definitely not be Julius Chan.”

“This is PNG politics, it’s not over yet,” he added.

Responding to Sunday’s events, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison thanked Mr O’Neill for his friendship. “I have worked with Peter on three different portfolios, as the minister of immigration, as the treasurer, as prime minister. Peter has been a passionate servant of his country.”

He praised Papua New Guinea as Australia’s closest ally. “We have a special relationship, and always will. And I will look forward to working with the prime minister of Papua New Guinea in the same way I have enjoyed such a strong friendship and relationship with Peter O’Neill. My simple message to Peter O’Neill, and I look forward to passing this on soon personally, is thank you. Thank you on behalf of Australia for your friendship.”

Mr Kramer said that among the opposition’s priorities if one of their MPs were elected to the top job were the country’s crumbling health and education systems and improving the economy by stamping out corruption.

Political instability is something of a fixture in the resource-rich but poor South Pacific nation and Mr O’Neill has seen off previous attempts to topple him.

The political crisis came to a head earlier this month after a spate of high-profile resignations by government ministers led to MPs calling a vote of no confidence in the PM.

Mr O’Neill secured a three-week adjournment designed to stall the no-confidence vote and defended his record, labelling talk of a declining economy and living standards as “fake news”.

Last week, Papua New Guinea politics was again thrown into crisis when the attorney general announced an investigation into the citizenship status of all 111 of the country’s MPs to determine if any hold dual citizenship, which would disqualify them from holding public office, after an accusation from Mr Kramer that Mr O’Neill held both Papua New Guinean and Australian citizenship, though he offered no direct evidence of this.

Mr O’Neill denied these allegations and presented his Papua New Guinea passport, with Australian visas inside, to the courts as evidence. – Guardian </s> PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AP) - Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has resigned after seven years on the job.

His announcement Sunday follows weeks of high profile defections from his government to the opposition.

O'Neill said in a news conference in the capital of Port Moresby that recent movements in parliament have shown a "need for change."

He handed over his leadership to a former prime minister and current member of parliament, Sir Julius Chan.

On Friday, one of O Neill's key coalition allies abandoned him. The opposition bloc has since been saying it has 62 lawmakers in its camp, which would give it a majority in parliament.

The resignation will be formalized when O'Neill visits the governor-general, the official representative of Queen Elizabeth II.

FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2018, file photo, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill gestures after inspecting the APEC 2018 International Media Center at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. O'Neill has resigned Sunday after seven years on the job. His announcement follows weeks of high profile defections from his government to the opposition. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2017, file photo, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O'Neill addresses the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York. O'Neill has resigned Sunday after seven years on the job. His announcement follows weeks of high profile defections from his government to the opposition. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File) </s> PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea — Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has resigned after seven years on the job.

His announcement follows weeks of high profile defections from his government to the opposition.

O’Neill said in a news conference in the capital of Port Moresby that recent movements in parliament have shown a “need for change.”

He handed over his leadership to a former prime minister and current member of parliament, Sir Julius Chan.

On Friday, one of O Neill’s key coalition allies abandoned him. The opposition bloc has since been saying it has 62 lawmakers in its camp, which would give it a majority in parliament.

The resignation will be formalized when O’Neill visits the governor-general, the official representative of Queen Elizabeth II. </s> FILE PHOTO: Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill speaks during the APEC CEO Summit 2018 at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 16 November 2018. Fazry Ismail/Pool via REUTERS

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill announced his resignation on Sunday after seven years in the top job following weeks of high-level defections from the ruling party.

O’Neill had resisted calls to resign for weeks but said recent movements in parliament showed a "need for change", ABC News reported, handing over the reins of power to former prime minister Sir Julius Chan.

Opponents of O'Neill said on Friday they had mustered enough support in parliament to oust him over a range of grievances including a gas deal with France's Total, which critics have questioned.

Political instability is something of a fixture in the resource-rich but poverty-stricken South Pacific nation and O'Neill, who has been leader since 2011, has seen off previous attempts to topple him.

Defections from the ruling coalition have been going on for weeks and on Friday at least nine members switched sides, according to two ministers who were among them.

O'Neill's opponents needed to rally 62 members of PNG's 111-seat parliament to vote him out.

Opposition politicians said on Friday they would push for investigations in Australia and Switzerland into a A$1.2 billion ($830.76 million) loan arranged by finance group UBS if there was a change of government, the Australian Financial Review reported.

A report by the Ombudsman Commission of PNG into the 2014 deal that allowed the country to borrow from UBS to buy a 10 per cent stake in Australian Stock Exchange-listed energy firm Oil Search is scheduled to be tabled in parliament next week.

Oil Search in turn used the money to buy into the Elk Antelope gas field being developed by France's Total.

PNG is estimated to have lost 1 billion kina ($287 million) on the deal after being forced to sell the shares when the price fell in 2017.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison thanked Peter O'Neill for his friendship. "I will look forward to working with the new prime minister of PNG in the same way I have enjoyed such a strong friendship and relationship with Peter O'Neill," he told reporters in Canberra. </s> James Marape sworn in as Papua New Guinea's prime minister

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AP) — Former Papua New Guinea Finance Minister James Marape has been sworn in as the country's new prime minister, following the resignation of Peter O'Neill last week.

Local media reported that the PNG parliament voted overwhelmingly for Marape on Thursday.

Marape told reporters that he doesn't have all the answers for the country, but would do his best to mobilize the talents of members of government, the opposition, and "more importantly, talents from the greater Papua New Guineans out there."

O'Neill resigned last Sunday after seven years on the job. His announcement followed weeks of high-profile defections from his government to the opposition. </s> SYDNEY (REUTERS) - Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill announced his resignation on Sunday (May 26) after seven years in the top job following weeks of high-level defections from the ruling party.

Mr O'Neill told media in Port Moresby that he had handed over leadership of the Pacific nation to Sir Julius Chan.

Mr O'Neill had resisted calls to resign for weeks but stepped down on Sunday, saying that recent movements in Parliament showed a "need for change", ABC News reported.

Opponents of Mr O'Neill said last Friday that they had mustered enough support in parliament to oust him over a range of grievances including a gas deal with France's Total, which critics have questioned.

Political instability is something of a fixture in the resource-rich but poverty-stricken South Pacific nation and Mr O'Neill, who has been leader since 2011, has seen off previous attempts to topple him.

Defections from the ruling coalition have been going on for weeks, and last Friday at least nine members switched sides, according to two ministers who were among them.

Mr O'Neill's opponents needed to rally 62 members of Papua New Guinea's 111-seat parliament to vote him out.

Opposition politicians said last Friday that they would push for investigations in Australia and Switzerland into a A$1.2 billion (S$1.1 billion) loan arranged by finance group UBS if there was a change of government, the Australian Financial Review reported.

A report by the Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea into the 2014 deal that allowed the South Pacific nation to borrow from UBS to buy a 10 per cent stake in Australian Stock Exchange-listed energy firm Oil Search is scheduled to be tabled in Papua New Guinea's parliament next week.

Oil Search in turn used the money to buy into the Elk Antelope gas field being developed by France's Total.

Papua New Guinea is estimated to have lost 1 billion kina (S$407 million) on the deal after being forced to sell the shares when the price fell in 2017.

“I will look forward to working with the new prime minister of PNG in the same way I have enjoyed such a strong friendship and relationship with Peter O’Neill,” Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra. </s> James Marape announced as PNG's new Prime Minister after Peter O'Neill's resignation

After weeks of political unrest, Papua New Guinea has a new Prime Minister, with James Marape voted into the country's top job.

Former prime minister Peter O'Neill was forced to resign after losing the support of a majority of MPs.

Over the past month, Mr Marape has led the defections from the Government to the opposition side, but after Mr O'Neill's formal resignation he brought his supporters back to the ruling coalition.

Mr Marape beat fellow prime ministerial nominee Sir Mereke Mourata 101-8 in Parliament, as a vast majority of the opposition crossed the floor in his support.

Mr Marape is the Member for Tari-Pori in New Hela Province and served as finance minister until April 29.

His resignation helped fuel the political turmoil that forced Mr O'Neill to resign from office.

More to come. </s> James Marape to become PNG's new Prime Minister after Peter O'Neill's resignation

After weeks of political unrest, Papua New Guinea will swear in a new Prime Minister in former finance minister James Marape.

Mr Marape's resignation six weeks ago, over differences in economic policy, fuelled the mass defection from former prime minister Peter O'Neill's government.

Mr O'Neill was forced to resign after losing the support of a majority of MPs, ahead of an opposition vote of no confidence.

Over the past month, Mr Marape led the defections from the Government to the opposition side, but after Mr O'Neill's formal resignation yesterday, he brought his supporters back to the ruling coalition.

Mr Marape beat fellow prime ministerial nominee Sir Mereke Mourata 101-8 in Parliament, when a vast majority of the opposition crossed the floor in his support.

He is the Member for Tari-Pori in New Hela Province and served as finance minister until April 29.

More to come. </s> PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea — Former Papua New Guinea Finance Minister James Marape has been sworn in as the country’s new prime minister, following the resignation of Peter O’Neill last week.

Local media reported that the PNG parliament voted overwhelmingly for Marape on Thursday.

Marape told reporters that he doesn’t have all the answers for the country, but would do his best to mobilize the talents of members of government, the opposition, and “more importantly, talents from the greater Papua New Guineans out there.”

O’Neill resigned last Sunday after seven years on the job. His announcement followed weeks of high-profile defections from his government to the opposition.

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Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill announces his resignation over disputes of him holding dual citizenship and after weeks of defections from his coalition government.