China-friendly former diplomat Jeremiah Manele was elected Solomon Islands’ prime minister on Thursday, the country’s governor-general said, defeating a rival 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, 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,” 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 Manele will persevere with the archipelago nation’s recent embrace of China, albeit with less enthusiasm than his predecessor Manasseh Sogavare.
Manele was foreign minister in 2019 when Solomon Islands turned its back on Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with Beijing.
Incumbent Sogavare withdrew from the contest earlier this week after failing to secure an election majority.
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.
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.
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