Rufina Peter has been elected into Papua New Guinea's parliament, breaking a drought of female representation.
Following a tight race, the Peoples National Party candidate defeated incumbent Robert Agarobe to become the governor-elect for Central Province.
The result was declared on Friday night, with Ms Peter winning 62,361 votes ahead of Mr Agarobe's 58,917, the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier reported.
"This victory has been earned through the prayers and passion of people from Central Province," Ms Peter said after being declared the Governor-Elect.
"I thank the people who have stood with me and other leaders to elect good leaders ... so that we can serve you the way you expect us to serve you."
"Thank you very much for giving a woman an opportunity."
On Wednesday, UN Women Papua New Guinea reported Kessy Sawang had been declared member of parliament for the Rai Coast electorate.
With no women successful in the last general election in 2017, for the past five years Papua New Guinea has been one of a small handful of countries — with others being Tonga, Vanuatu and Yemen — to have its seats all filled by men.
PNG became independent from Australia in 1974 and Ms Peter is only the eighth woman to be elected, making Ms Sawang the ninth. Three women were returned in 2012 but none of them were part of the parliament elected after polls in 2017.
In 2022, 142 females ran for election compared to the more than 3,000 men vying for 118 seats.
This election, which began on 4 July, saw the introduction of gender-separated queues allowing women to vote without pressure or harassment.
Kessy Sawang and Rufina Peter were both unsuccessful in the 2017 Papua New Guinea election. In 2022, they have both won seats. Source: Facebook / Kessy Sawang
Which party won the election in Papua New Guinea?
While official vote counting is ongoing, the party of Papua New Guinea's prime minister was asked Monday to form a new government after winning more seats than its rivals.
Governor General Bob Dadae, who represents Queen Elizabeth, invited James Marape's Pangu Pati to form government in an official ceremony, saying it had won more seats than any other single party so far.
