pn928. Solomon Islands goes to the polls: here's what to expect by Anouk Ride

Dr Anouk Ride*  presents a picture of a very fragile democracy where most people' s allegiance is to their clan, island and church. The concept of a Solomon Island nation takes a second or lower place.

Solomon Islanders are set to vote on 17 April in an election that has significance within and beyond the country’s borders. It is the first chance for them to vote on policy directions that the coalition led by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has taken and may change or consolidate his power.

Since Sogavare was elected by his parliamentary peers in April 2019, Solomon Islanders have lived through several shocks. First there were riots in April 2019, precursors to a much larger riot in November 2021. Both incidents related to grievances about the ruling political coalition and perceived foreign control of government decisions and the economy.

There was a switch in bilateral relations from Taiwan to China in September 2019, a decision announced before a parliamentary inquiry concluded or provincial governments had their say. The omission contributed to tensions between the prime minister’s office and the Malaitan provincial government, especially its former premier, Daniel Suidani. Those tensions resulted in Suidani’s removal from office in a vote of confidence in February, allegedly after money was offered to members of the provincial assembly to take him down.

Then there was Covid-19, which prompted a 28-month state of emergency. Sogavare’s emergency powers included rights to decide who could enter the country. He could also ban events, restrict inter-island travel and suspend access to media outlets. A decision to ban Facebook was ultimately not implemented but pointed to an anti-democratic trend. With even much-needed doctors and nurses sacked over strike plans or a critical social media post, rising centralisation of power and restrictions on free speech became clear. Criticism of the coalition has become more muted or is kept private.

Governance has become less transparent. No auditor general’s annual report on the state of government finances has been published in the past five years. The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force has released no annual report since 2018. Allegations of corruption, including alleged bribery of High Court officials, are unresolved.

Foreign money, meanwhile, has helped consolidate the ruling coalition’s power. Constituency development funds—discretionary money given to members of parliament— have a long history in Solomon Islands, but in 2021 the money, now coming from China, was for the first time allocated not to all MPs but only to members of the coalition. Aid funds from other countries tended to be directed into preparations for the South Pacific Games of late 2023.  Click here to read in full.

* Anouk Ride is a research fellow at the Australian National University and an adjunct research fellow at Solomon Islands National University.