3 Jul 2006

Son chasing seat of former PNG Prime Minister Bill Skate

8:07 pm on 3 July 2006

The son of former Papua New Guinea prime minister Bill Skate, is appealing to voters in the shanty settlements of Port Moresby to elect him in his late father's old seat.

William Skate Junior, who is 25, is among 23 candidates in the July 8 and 9 by-election race for the seat.

He says he wants to be elected so he can look after his "grassroots people".

His father, whose 1997 to '99 tenure as prime minister was dogged by corruption scandals, died in January from a heart attack at the age of 52 after holding his seat for 13 years.

Political observers say William Skate Junior is likely to pick up a significant sympathy vote from his father's supporters in the city's poorer settlements.