‘The people have spoken’: China-friendly politician elected as Solomon Islands PM

One of Australia’s neighbours has elected a new prime minister, and it could have major consequences for the entire region.

China-friendly former foreign minister Jeremiah Manele has been elected as Solomon Islands’ prime minister, defeating an opposition leader intent on curbing Beijing’s reach in the Pacific nation.

The new leader 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, garnered 18 votes.

Squads of police patrolled the parliamentary grounds as MPs voted inside, warding off the unrest that has plagued Solomon Islands’ elections in the past.

“The people have spoken,” Mr Manele said, praising the fact there was no repeat of past violence.

“We have shown the world today that we are better than that.”

Pacific watchers expect Mr Manele to persevere with the archipelago’s recent embrace of China, albeit with less bombast than his predecessor Manasseh Sogavare.

Mr Manele was a career diplomat and was foreign minister in 2019 when Solomon Islands turned its back on Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with Beijing.

Meanwhile, several prominent Solomon Islands leaders have come out to urge the Australian government to provide more aid in order to combat increasing Chinese influence.

Experts have warned that significant infrastructure contributions such as the $120 million China-funded National Stadium in the capital Honiara and increasing control over resource rich areas like mining companies as potential pieces of leverage over the small Pacific Islands state.

Australian analysts have also repeatedly raised concerns that China could establish a military presence in the region.

Pacific watchers expect Mr Manele to persevere with the archipelago’s recent embrace of China, albeit with less bombast than his predecessor Manasseh Sogavare.

‘Road to recovery’

Incumbent leader Mr Sogavare withdrew from the contest earlier this week after failing to secure an election majority.

His popularity had waned during his latest term as premier, and his leadership was increasingly seen as divisive and heavy-handed.

Mr Manele 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.

Solomon Islands, a nation of some 720,000 people spread across hundreds of islands and coral atolls, is one of the poorest countries in the world.

China's President Xi Jinping.

Mr Manele 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.

Extractive industries such as logging and fishing are the bedrock of Solomon Islands’ economy and often exert an outsize influence on its politics.

It remains to be seen whether Mr Sogavare — one of the nation’s most consequential leaders — will take a senior role in the new government.

Mr Mr Sogavare was standing behind Mr Manele as the prime minister accepted his new post on Thursday.

A security pact with Beijing in 2022 that set alarm bells ringing in Western capitals, and harboured a deep distrust of Australia and the United States.

“There are questions over whether Mr Sogavare will look to exert influence behind the scenes,” Australian National University Pacific expert Graeme Smith told AFP.

“Mr Manele is not the forceful character that Mr Sogavare is.” Mr Sogavare has overseen the rapid expansion of Chinese interests across the archipelago.

He signed a security pact with Beijing in 2022 that set alarm bells ringing in Western capitals, and harboured a deep distrust of Australia and the United States.

“I don’t think there will be any notable shift in policy,” said Smith. “Although, of course, there will be a shift in tone.” Wale is a former accountant who had pledged to reform the nation’s creaking democratic institutions, which have long been clogged with corruption.

He has condemned the China security pact in the past and accused Mr Sogavare of selling out Solomon Islands to keep Beijing happy.