Solomon Islands lawmakers selected a new prime minister in a secret ballot on Thursday, choosing foreign minister Jeremiah Manele, who has pledged to continue the Pacific island nation’s foreign policy that saw it grow close to China.
Governor General David Vunagi announced outside parliament house that Manele had won 31 votes, to opposition leader Matthew Wale’s 18 votes.
Police have boosted security in the capital Honiara as newly elected lawmakers arrived at parliament on Thursday to vote.
A national election last month failed to deliver a majority to any political party, and two camps lobbied to win support from independents ahead of the vote for prime minister.
The election is being closely watched by China, the US and neighbouring Australia because of the potential impact on regional security, after incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare struck a security pact with China in 2022.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he looked forward to working closely with Manele. “Australia and Solomon Islands are close friends and our futures are connected,” Albanese wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
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Sogavare, who built close ties with Beijing during five years in power, did not seek re-election to the top political office and his party backed Manele.
Manele said outside parliament on Thursday “the people have spoken”, and called for calm, noting a history of violence in Solomon Islands after elections.
“Today we show the world we are better than that – we must respect the democratic process for electing our prime minister,” he said.
Manele’s OUR party, which has pledged to build more infrastructure, won 15 seats, and gained four seats under a renewed coalition with two micro parties. It needed support from independents to reach 26 seats for a majority in the 50-seat parliament. A total of 49 votes were cast with one lawmaker absent.
Lowy Institute research fellow Mihai Sora, a former Australian diplomat in the Solomon Islands, said Manele has “a strong track record of working well with all international partners”, compared to Sogavare who was “a polarising figure”.
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Australian National University’s Pacific expert Graeme Smith said Manele was capable and “a big change in style” for the Solomon Islands.
It remains to be seen whether Sogavare – one of the nation’s most consequential leaders – will take a senior role in the new government.
Sogavare was standing behind Manele as the prime minister accepted his new post on Thursday.
“There are questions over whether Sogavare will look to exert influence behind the scenes,” Smith said.
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Manele was foreign minister in 2019 when Solomon Islands turned its back on Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with Beijing.
On Monday, Manele said he would keep the “same foreign policy basis – friends to all and enemies to none”.
He vowed a “government of national unity” that would focus on improving the economy and “progress on our road to recovery” after the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said bills on a value-added tax, establishing a special economic zone and rules around national resources would be at the top of the new government’s agenda.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
