Electorates
Members of Parliament represent the 109 single-member electorates. The 19 provinces and the National Capital District each elect a provincial member. Additionally there are 89 local ("Open") electorates, of which three are in the National Capital District and 86 are in the provinces, with boundaries of the latter corresponding directly to administrative districts.
The Electoral Boundaries Commission, reporting in February 2006, suggested an additional 26 Open electorates be created. Legally, electoral boundaries must be reviewed every ten years, but due to political instability, no review occurred for 30 years. The future of the provincial electorates is under debate.
Lady Carol Kidu, after being elected as the only female Member of Parliament in the 2007 general election, called for seats to be reserved for women to improve the representation of women in Parliament. She suggested that the 20 provincial seats could be reserved for women by the 2012 election.
Read more about this topic: Elections In Papua New Guinea