Papua New Guinea court order bans 'tomato' insult

Papua New Guinea's electoral commissioner has defended his decision to seek a court order stopping a blogger from calling him "tomato", reports Australian website ABC News.

The Electoral Commission obtained a court order restraining well-known blogger Martyn Namorong from tweeting or sharing allegedly defamatory statements about commissioner Patilias Gamato.

Namorong had been one of many people using social media to criticise the conduct of PNG's national elections, which are underway at the moment.

Gamato said he was insulted when Namorong began substituting the word tomato for his surname.

"He made some defamatory statements and also called my surname, which is Gamato as 'tomato'," he told ABC News.

"I don't look like a tomato, I'm a human being."

The commissioner said he was particularly hurt by an edited image, which Namorong denies posting, of a tomato around his head.

Namorong said he was yet to be served the actual order, but has been sharing an image of himself masked and gagged, in protest.

The Electoral Commission and Gamato have been subject to heavy criticism since polls opened on June 24, because of embarrassing delays in polling, irregularities in the logistics and security arrangements and the arrest of three senior election officials in Port Moresby.