Solomons votes in poll seen to impact China ties
Voting closed across the Solomon Islands on Wednesday in its first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiances from Taiwan to China and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of Beijing’s navy gaining a foothold in the South Pacific.
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 on Wednesday.
For the first time, the national vote also coincides with elections for eight of the 10 local governments.
Some voters queued outside polling stations from 4 a.m. — three hours before polling began — with many more flocking to booths early after seeing the growing crowds. Voting ended at 4 p.m.
With early voting available to a select few, voters have spent recent days traveling back to home electorates, quietening the streets of the capital Honiara and forcing the nation’s main hospital to enter crisis mode due to a lack of staff.
The election comes as the United States has been working to build diplomatic bridges with South Pacific island nations since Solomons 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 Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper. Links to the articles have been posted on social media.
Ann Marie Yastishock, the US ambassador to the Solomons, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, released on Tuesday 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 and the US government has sought to influence the upcoming election in Solomon Islands,” Yastishock said, using the acronym of the US Aid for Development agency.
More than 1,000 polling stations were scattered across villages and town centers across the Solomons, 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles off Australia’s northeastern coast. Some were visited by Sogavare, who is wellregarded for his political acumen but criticized for backsliding on democracy. He has asked voters to back his economic plans against a backdrop of closer ties with China.
Since he became prime minister in 2019, 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 $100-million sporting complex used to host regional Pacific Games last year and a similarly sized loan to build a national broadband network led by Chinese tech giant Huawei as examples of why the switch from Taiwan, a self-ruling democratic island that Beijing claims as Chinese territory, was the correct move for the developing country.
Opposition candidates have campaigned on reexamining elements of the Chinese relationship, including the 2022 security pact with Beijing.
Domestic issues, including health clinics running low on medicines and the rising cost of living, have also played key roles in the campaigns.
Loyalties to candidates through blood or church can also influence ballots, while the illegal practice of vote-buying also occurs.
Police have warned they are prepared to quickly respond to any potential repeat of politically motivated disorder that has broken out after past elections.
Vote counting begins on Thursday. But the result will not be known for more than a week. The 50 elected lawmakers must then choose who will become the next prime minister.