Early results are starting to flow in Solomon Islands in the wake of Wednesday's elections, with prominent China critic, ousted Malaita premier Daniel Suidani, regaining his provincial seat.
Solomon Islands held its national and provincial elections on Wednesday, with early results now starting to trickle in.Counting continues with the result of the incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare 's seat set for Friday night or Saturday morning.
The man who replaced Mr Suidani as premier, Martin Fini, has also been bundled out of Malaita's local parliament after losing his seat.Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who has drawn Solomon Islands much closer to China, is hoping to become the first incumbent to be re-elected prime minister after serving a full term in office.strike much stronger ties with BeijingSolomon Islands heads to the polls on Wednesday in what experts are calling the most important election in its history.
One voter told the ABC that he'd waited for hours to get on a boat to return to his home province, but hadn't been successful."They should provide for us because we are citizens of this country we have a right to vote."Solomon Islanders now face a potentially lengthy wait until a new government is formed, with vote counting expected to continue for one to two weeks, with protracted negotiations to form a governing coalition expected to go on for even longer.
"What that means is having states like Solomon Islands, and influential elites like Mr Sogavare, who will defer to China's interests in everything they do."
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