China’s Pacific ally loses the elections and is unlikely to remain in government
Solomon Islands' incumbent prime minister is set to fall short of an overall majority in Monday's elections, forcing the pro-Beijing Pacific leader to court an unwieldy mix of potential coalition partners.
Manasseh Sogavare's "OUR party" won 12 seats with six contests still in play, according to provisional results reported by the public broadcaster – well short of a majority in the 50-seat Parliament.
The coalition negotiations will be closely watched from afar, with major consequences for Beijing's push in the South Pacific.
Sogavare signed a security pact with Beijing in 2022 and has overseen the rapid expansion of Chinese interests in the archipelago.
Its two main rival parties have both expressed a desire to push away China's influence if they were to form a government. The CARE party, which now has 12 votes, should be able to attract some independents and obtain a relative majority. Meanwhile, the voting process is being completed.
The balance of seats is held by an unpredictable mix of independents and smaller parties that whoever forms the new government will have to deal with, but the parties that oppose OUR have in common their opposition to Chinese penetration.
Locals have their own term – “grasshopper” – for undeclared politicians who flit from interview to interview trying to get the votes needed to gain a majority.
Election time can be a tense time in Solomon Islands, given the post-voting unrest that has plagued the country in the past.
Police quelled a small outbreak of violence between two villages on the island of Malaita at the weekend, sparked by the election result.
A group of men damaged a "water source, church building and residential houses" in a nearby village after votes did not go their way, police said. Australian, New Zealand and Fijian police forces secured the electoral process.
In the coming days, politicians with common interests will begin to gather in 'camps' based in Honiara's casinos and hotels, seeking to form a governing majority. Only when the dust settles from this process, which could take days or even weeks, will a Prime Minister emerge.
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The article China's Pacific ally loses the elections and is unlikely to remain in government comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/lalleato-della-cina-nel-pacifico-perde-le-elezioni-e-difficilmente-restera-al-governo/ on Tue, 23 Apr 2024 07:00:35 +0000.