“The people have spoken,” said Jeremiah Manele, welcoming the fact that the vote took place without violence: “We showed the world today that we are better than that.”
Elections are often turbulent in the Solomon Islands, a country of some 720,000 people. In 2000, Prime Minister Bart Ulufa’alu was forced to resign after being kidnapped by disgruntled gunmen, and in 2006, international peacekeeping forces were deployed to quell post-election violence.
A friendly policy towards Beijing expected
Jeremiah Manele was serving as foreign minister in 2019, when the Solomon Islands turned away from Taiwan by establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing.
Observers expect Jeremiah Manele to continue the archipelago’s friendly policy towards China.
Outgoing Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who did not run in this election, signed a security pact with Beijing in 2022. Although the details of this agreement remain obscure, Washington and Canberra fear that it poses the groundbreaking for a permanent Chinese military base in the South Pacific, which could be a game-changer in regional security.
The prime minister-elect promised “a government of national unity” that will focus on improving the economy and “progress on our road to recovery” from the Covid-19 pandemic. Bills around value added tax (VAT) or the establishment of a special economic zone are among the announced priorities of the new government.
