HONIARA: Solomon Islands’ lawmakers elected China-friendly former foreign minister Jeremiah Manele as prime minister on Thursday, choosing him over an opposition leader intent on curbing Beijing’s reach in the Pacific nation.
Manele won 31 votes in a secret ballot of 50 MPs, said Governor-General David Vunagi, the climax of a national election that will resonate in Beijing, Washington and across the South Pacific. His opponent, democratic reformer and longtime opposition leader Matthew Wale, got 18 votes.
Squads of police patrolled the parliamentary grounds as MPs voted inside, warding off unrest that has plagued past elections. “The people have spoken,” Manele said, praising the fact that there was no violence.
“We have shown the world today that we are better than that.” Pacific watchers expect Manele to persevere with the archipelago’s recent embrace of China, albeit with less bluster than his predecessor Manasseh Sogavare.
A career diplomat before entering politics, Manele was foreign minister in 2019 when Solomon Islands turned its back on Taiwan and established diplomatic ties with Beijing.
Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2024
