Solomon Islanders vote in an election that might impact relations with China.
Voters in the Solomon Islands are casting their ballots in a general election that Australia, China and the United States are keeping a careful eye on for potential regional security implications.
The poll on Wednesday is the first since Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s administration shifted official diplomatic ties to China from Taiwan and he has promised to strengthen relations with Beijing if re-elected. His primary competitors aim to reduce Beijing’s influence.
Voting in both the national and provincial elections being conducted on the same day for the first time began at 7 a.m. on Wednesday in the 720,000-person archipelago. Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Papua New Guinean police are providing security support to the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force.
A few voters lined up outside voting places three hours before the polls opened, while a large number of others arrived at the booths early upon observing the gathering numbers. Many of them prioritized improving the nation’s poor roads, education system and health care.
More than 1,000 voting sites are located in villages and towns around the Solomon Islands which are 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) off Australia’s northeast coast. It will take several weeks to gather all of the ballots, and the country’s 50 parliamentarians will then need to form a government before electing the new Prime Minister.
This year, the prime minister’s opponents have campaigned on rethinking aspects of the Chinese relationship, particularly a contentious 2022 security treaty with Beijing.
Among them is Matthew Wale of the Solomon Islands Democratic Party, who has previously criticized the Chinese police presence on the island nation and has promised, if elected, to improve education and clinics that frequently run out of medicine.
In an effort to lessen Beijing’s influence, Peter Kenilorea Jr., a well-known opposition candidate from the United Party, has stated that he wants the China security agreement to be abandoned and that Beijing should cooperate with more Western nations on infrastructure projects.Voting and counting will be seen by teams of election observers from Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific, Japan, Europe and the US.
