Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region.
The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots.
As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats.
Photo: AFP
For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments.
Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the National Art Gallery in the capital, Honiara, and said it seemed busier than the previous national election in 2019.
“I want my country and the economy to be good, and that’s why I chose my candidate,” she said outside a polling station.
Some voters lined up outside polling stations from 4am — three hours before polling began — with many more flocking to booths early after seeing the growing crowds. Voting ended at 4pm.
With early voting available to a select few, voters have spent recent days traveling to home electorates, quietening the streets of Honiara and forcing the nation’s main hospital to enter crisis mode due to a lack of staff.
“I didn’t use to vote, but now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country,” hospital worker Loretta Maeohu said.
The US has been working to build diplomatic bridges with south Pacific island nations since Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare signed the security pact with China.
Russia’s Sputnik news agency last week published an article featuring anonymous claims that the US was planning an “electoral coup” in the Solomon Islands, which were repeated in an article published by the Chinese newspaper the Global Times.
Links to the articles have been posted on social media.
US Ambassador to the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu Ann Marie Yastishock on Tuesday released a statement dismissing “blatantly misleading claims about the United States’ engagement in the region.”
“We strongly refute allegations being made in known propaganda outlets that claim USAID [US Agency for International Development] and the US government have sought to influence the upcoming election in Solomon Islands,” Yastishock said.
More than 1,000 polling stations were scattered across villages and town centers across the Solomons archipelago, 2,000km off Australia’s northeast coast.
Sogavare asked voters to back his economic plans against a backdrop of closer ties with China.
Since he became prime minister in the 2019 election, which is his fourth and longest stint in the top office, he has been criticized for switching diplomatic ties from Taiwan without parliamentary approval.
Sogavare points to China’s gift of a US$100 million sporting complex used to host the regional Pacific Games last year and a similarly sized loan to build a national broadband network led by Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co as examples of why the switch from Taiwan was the correct move.
Opposition candidates have campaigned on re-examining elements of the Chinese relationship, including a 2022 security pact with Beijing.
Police have warned they are prepared to quickly respond to any potential repeat of politically motivated disorder that has broken out after past elections.
An anti-government riot devastated Honiara in late 2021 after Sogavare’s leadership survived a no-confidence motion in parliament.
“National and provincial politics can be very volatile,” Solomons historian, emeritus professor Clive Moore said on Tuesday. “The police need to handle the situation carefully.”
Vote counting is to begin today, but the result is not expected for more than a week.
The 50 elected lawmakers must then choose who will become the next prime minister.
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