DAN MOSKOVITZ (HE/HIM
With the UK, France, EU, India, Taiwan and more already having had elections in 2024—not to mention the looming US bloodbath—it's easy to lose track of what’s going on in Aotearoa’s backyard.
Making up 725,000 of 2024’s two-billion voters, in April the Solomon Islands went to the polls. It came out with a new leader, but not a new government.
Not much stops MPs in the 50-seat chamber from switching allegiances after horse trading, regardless of party affiliations—making them mean little in Solomon politics. The Prime Minister is also decided internally within the house post-election, so voters don’t necessarily know who will be PM until well after the election.
Hence, after the election, the previous PM Manasseh Sogavare decided not to put his hand up for the job again. Still, his party under new leader Jeremiah Manele was the one to form a coalition government with minor parties and independents. Sogavare is now Manele’s finance minister.
“There was a desire for change at the ballot box, but the way in which Solomon politics works meant that there was a great deal of horse-trading for coalition building,” said Anna Powles, an associate professor of security studies at Massey University. Powles did her PhD on the Solomons, and was part of an NZ observer mission to the election.
Just about every news outlet covering the Solomons’ election discusses its implications vis-a-vis China. In 2019, the Pacific state, then one of the few nations continuing to recognise an independent Taiwan, switched its allegiance to the PCR. Since then, Chinese police have assisted the Solomons and the two nations have signed a security pact, which has never been released publicly in full.
While potentially the key international concern, Powles says the Solomon’s relationship with China wasn’t a decisive issue domestically. “The focus on the ground was on the cost of living, access to education, healthcare, the economy, and economic development,” said Powles. “There was very little attention paid to the broader geopolitical competition.”
Still, with high turnout and the Sogavare coalition’s unexpected dip on polling day, according to Powles’ there was a voice for change. Perhaps because of this Manele has already made one of his priorities economic development.
There’s also opportunities for a reset internationally. Manele’s first overseas visit was to Australia; a sign of willingness to work together. Both Canberra and Wellington have previously criticized the islands over their relationship with China.
“Sogavare’s a great orator, and highly nationalistic. He made the most of that, often to the frustration of Canberra, Wellington, and Washington,” said Powles.
“But Manele was foreign minister and is a quieter, highly experienced diplomat.
“There’s a great deal of continuity between the Manele and Sogavare governments. Similar substance, different tone.” Aotearoa appears to be seizing the chance to start afresh. The new Solomon government was only sworn in at the start of May, yet Foreign Minister Winston Peters has already visited twice since the government’s formation.
With riots occurring in 2019 and 2021 in the Solomons, whether or not the election would be an orderly affair was a topic of concern.
Yet barring isolated incidents, the election as a whole was peaceful, much to the relief of observers, both domestic and international.
Long may that continue.
Anna Powles’ comments are made as an independent academic and not as part of the New Zealand government’s observer mission for the Solomon Islands’ election.
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