Solomon Islanders vote in legislative poll

Citizens of the Solomon Islands voted yesterday in the first election since communal violence was quelled by the arrival of troops and police from neighboring South Pacific nations in 2003.

"As we expected, this was a very good election. It ran smoothly and there were no major disturbances at polling stations," Chief Electoral Officer Musu Kevu said from the capital, Honiara.

"The provinces have reported a very high turnout of voters," he said, adding that polling stations across the nation had closed.

Vote counting begins today and could be completed by Saturday night, Kevu said.

Campaigning ahead of the poll focused on the fight against corruption in government.

Several of Prime Minister Allan Kemakeza's ministers have been charged with corruption since the last election in 2001 and it remains unclear if he will win enough seats to remain in power. His People's Alliance Party won 20 of the 50 seats in 2001. Only 18 of the country's 50 lawmakers managed to hold onto their seats at that election and officials expect a similar number to be tossed out this election.

Hundreds of police and international election monitors were spread across the island nation as voters chose the new parliament. More than 342,000 people were registered to vote.

"People are very interested in this election," Kevu said.

Law and order are slowly returning to the archipelago of 480,000 people located 3,840km northeast of New Zealand's capital, Wellington, after years of communal strife in which hundreds were killed and more than 20,000 were forced to flee their homes.

The ethnic conflict was sparked by rivalry between migrants from the island of Malaita and indigenous landowners on the main island of Guadalcanal.

Local warlords, armed groups and corrupt police and politicians brought the nation to the brink of civil war before an Australian-led regional force of troops and police flew into the country in July 2003 to end the spiraling violence.