Former prime minister wins Solomon’s run-off sparking riots
HONIARA: The election of veteran politician Manasseh Sogavare as the new prime minister of the Solomon Islands sparked violent protests in the capital Honiara Wednesday, with riot police deployed in a bid to maintain order.
Eyewitnesses reported unrest in Chinatown and at least one other area of the city after Sogavare won the backing of parliamentarians for a record fourth term in office. Shops and offices closed and workers were advised to go home as police and community leaders appealed for calm.
Following an inconclusive election earlier this month, Sogavare won the backing of 34 of 50 members of parliament in a controversial run-off, with his opponents boycotting the vote.
In a brief statement, the 64-yearold said ‘God’ had delivered the outcome.
“I wish to assure the nation that we are listening to what has been said, it has not fallen on to deaf ears,” he said.
It is the first election on the selfstyled ‘hapi isles’ since thousands of Australian-led peacekeepers left in 2017, and there will be fears the islands’ fractious politics will be reignited.
Sogavare’s last term in office ended abruptly in a 2017 vote of no confidence amid unconfirmed allegations the 64-year-old prime minister received donations from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.
The Solomon Islands is one of Taiwan’sfewremainingdiplomatic allies, but is being courted by China which has been investing heavily in the Pacific.
The Solomons, where only about 50 per cent of the population have access to electricity, is heavily reliant on foreign aid.
In the run-up to the election, several Solomon Islands politicians, including caretaker prime minister Rick Houenipwela were reported to have said they would review diplomatic relations with Taiwan if elected.
Houenipwela was a member of Sogavare’s Democratic Coalition Government for Advancement. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province that must be brought back into the fold. The Solomon Islands has struggled with ethnic tensions and political violence for much of the time since independence in 1978. — AFP