There is outrage in Papua New Guinea over the government's decision to defer national elections by six months.
The deputy prime minister says the deferral is not a bid to hang onto power, but many people do not believe him.
Social media is a relatively new phenomenon in PNG, but people are using it to vent their anger at the government.
Robert Kama was in the public gallery when parliament voted for the deferral and he summed up the mood.
"I think the government's announcement of deferral is in the interests of the government, not the interests of the people of this country," he said.
The deputy prime minister maintains the deferral is necessary because the government needs more time to adequately prepare for the vote.
But PNG's former attorney-general, Sir Arnold Amet, says the deferral is unconstitutional.
"It is clearly a misconstruction, misinterpretation and whichever legal advisor gave that advice is fundamentally wrong," he said.
He is also a former chief justice and says PNG's constitution only allows the life of parliament to be extended in an emergency such as a war.
The opposition says it will challenge the deferral in court.
The move comes despite repeated assurances from prime minister Peter O'Neill that polling would go ahead as planned.
Voting was due to begin at the end of June.
If the deferral goes ahead it will be the first time in PNG's history that elections will not be held every five years.
This is not going to go down very well with locals in Papua New Guinea. I did manage to speak to some of the people who were in the public gallery, who saw what went on, and not a single one supported this move.
They all said that they wanted the election to take place as soon as possible so that the people can sort out this ongoing political drama this leadership tussle between Peter O'Neil and the man he replaced, Sir Michael Somare.
Indeed, one of the people I talked to was a prospective candidate who said he's now disadvantaged - he has been getting ready to proceed with the elections and campaign and now he can't do that. PNG correspondent Liam Fox
MST Price at posting:
0.1¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
