General elections were held in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

in May and June 1970, the first to the new

Governing Council A personal ordinariate for former Anglicanism, Anglicans, shortened as personal ordinariate or Anglican ordinariate,"...the liturgies approved for the Anglican ordinariates..." "Bishop Stephen Lopes of the Anglican Ordinariate of the Chair of St ...

. Most candidates ran as independents.Decolonization
United Nations

Background

The new

consisted of seventeen elected members (increased from fourteen in the Legislative Council), six civil servants (down from twelve) and three ''ex officio'' members, the first time a Solomon Islands legislature had an elected majority. The Council was to be chaired by the High Commissioner. Rather than introducing

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

government, the new constitution provided for government by committee, which was deemed more in line with Melanesian culture of reaching agreement by consensus rather than majority vote. The Governing Council had five committees, which were responsible for Communications and Works, Education and Social Welfare, Finance, Health and Internal Affairs, and Natural Resources.

Results

Appointed members

Aftermath

The newly elected Council met for the first time on 15 July.

Gordon Siama Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

was appointed chair of the Communications and Works committee,

Willie Betu Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

became chair of the Education and Social Welfare committee, Tom Russell (Financial Secretary) became chair of the Finance committee, Roy Davies was appointed chair of the Health and Internal Affairs committee, and

David Kausimae David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

became chair of the Natural Resources committee.The Solomons has 'its own thing' – but it's not 'Goodbye Britain'
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', August 1970, pp18–20

Joseph Bryan Joseph Bryan (August 18, 1773 – September 12, 1812) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's at-large congressional district from 1803 to 1806. Early life Bryan was born Sav ...

, who lost by 20 votes in East Guadalcanal, lodged a petition against the election results, claiming that the votes cast at two polling stations had been rejected as they contained markings that could identify the voter. The High Court heard the petition on 10 August; with the Returning Officer and winning candidate Leone Laku failing to lodge objections, the court annulled the result and ordered a by-election to be held. The by-election took place on 10 October, with Bryan winning with 977 votes; Laku finished second with 362. In 1971 Silas Sitai was appointed 'shadow chairman', becoming the first

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the legislature.The Solomons (Speaker appointed) talks of independence in 1975
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', September 1971, pp23–24

References

{{Solomon Islands elections

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Elections in the Solomon Islands Solomons Governing Council of the Solomon Islands Election and referendum articles with incomplete results