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2024 SOLOMON ISLANDS ELECTIONS: A VICTORY FOR CHINA?




Aimee Rogers -


 

The 2024 Solomon Islands elections have been anything but straight forward. With election day being held on April the 17th, who will hold government and fulfill the role of Prime Minister was not confirmed until May 2nd. Following elections, no party or coalition was able to gain a majority of seats in the parliament, with over 20% of seats going to independents. The two major players, OUR Party and the CARE Coalition both gained seats through forming alliances with minor parties to expand their blocs, but fell short of the seats needed for a majority. In the face of a difficult government formation, and a far from assured victory, previous Prime Minister and leader of OUR Party, Manasseh Sogavarre, stepped down, nominating Jeremiah Manele as his successor. Reacting to a failure to form government, Governor-General, David Vunagi, announced a parliamentary vote to elect the Prime Minister of May 2nd. Manele and OUR Party won with 31 votes to leader of the CARE Coalition, Matthew Wale’s, 18 votes. 


Although Manele and the OUR Party ultimately succeeded, accusations of foreign intervention throughout the elections have been plentiful due to the party’s support of China. Russian state-owned media agency, Sputnik, published an article claiming that the United States was planning an ‘electoral coup’ in the Solomon Islands in an attempt to maintain regional influence. These concerns were repeated by Chinese Communist Party run newspaper, the Global Times. Criticism increased amid the Australian government’s proposal to provide financial assistance in running the elections, although Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, denied these accusations, highlighting similar historical relationships between the two countries. 


Despite elections issues seemingly centring on domestic development, global response has largely focused on the Solomon Island’s relationship with China, and whether the controversial security pact they signed in July of 2023 will withstand the 2024 elections. Eyes in Washington, Canberra and Beijing have been closely watching the Solomon Islands, and will no doubt continue to do so as OUR party member and newly elected Prime Minister, Manele, settles into his new role. Following the Solomon Islands’ security pact with China, the US and Australia have heightened diplomatic and economic relations with the islands, in an attempt to maintain influence in the region. Manele’s victory over CARE coalition leader, Wale, presents disappointment for anti-China critics, as Manele seems content to continue his predecessor’s relationship with China. However, compared to Sogavarre, Manele is known for taking a less controversial and more diplomatic stance on foreign relations, having once worked as the Minister of Foreign Affairs under Sogavarre’s government. Much of Manele’s campaign and post-election rhetoric has centred on the idea of ‘unity’, which maintaining relations with China may promote. Concern has been raised over the tumultuous political climate returning to recognising the Republic of China (Taiwan), as the Solomon Islands did pre-2019, would cause after already committing to economic and security partnerships with the People’s Republic of China. Ultimately, the elections represent an important step forward for national unity within the Solomon Islands, and may signal the beginning of a less turbulent position in Pacific-relations for the island nation.


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