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 ...

on 19 November 2014.

Independent candidates An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

won 32 of the 50 seats in the National Parliament, with the Democratic Alliance Party emerging as the largest party with seven seats.

Background

The elections were assisted by the United Nations Development Programme, who wanted to help with "the development of a sustainable, cost effective and inclusive voter registration system to ensure the integrity of the vote." Previous elections in 2006 were followed by racial rioting, particularly targeting Chinese immigrants.

Electoral system

The 50 members of the

National Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

were elected in single-member constituencies using the

first-past-the-post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

system.Electoral system
IPU Voters had to be at least 18 years old and hold Solomon Islands citizenship. Overseas residents could not vote, and people were disqualified for voting if they had committed a breach of the electoral law, been declared insane, were imprisoned for more than six months, or were under a death sentence. Candidates had to be at least 21 years old and resident in the constituency in which they ran. Disqualifications included holding dual citizenship, being executives or members of the Electoral Commission, having an undischarged bankruptcy, being imprisoned for more than six months, or being under a death sentence.

Campaign

A total of 443 candidates were nominated to contest the elections, a reduction on the 509 that ran in 2010.

Conduct

In March 2014 a biometric voter registration system was introduced. Transparency Solomon Islands claimed that it had received anecdotal evidence of some candidates purchasing numerous ID cards. However, in May the Electoral Commission stated that it had not received any formal complaints. Following the elections, an election official attempted to steal a ballot box as it was taken for counting near

Auki Auki is the provincial capital of Malaita Province, Solomon Islands. It is situated on the northern end of Langa Langa Lagoon on the north-west coast of Malaita Island. It is one of the largest provincial towns in Solomon Islands. It was establi ...

. After police started chasing the official, he dropped the box and disappeared into the jungle. The head of the Commonwealth election observers group commended the Solomon Islands for a peaceful election process.

Results

Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo lost his seat in the Gizo-

Kolombangara Kolombangara (sometimes spelled ''Kulambangara'') is an island in the New Georgia Islands group of the nation state of Solomon Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The name is from a local language, a rough translation of its meaning is ...

constituency, losing to his nephew Jimson Tanangada of the United Democratic Party.Solomon Islands election: caretaker PM Gordon Darcy Lilo concedes he has lost seat
ABC News, 23 November 2014 As nearly two-thirds of the MPs returned are independent and the incumbent Prime Minister lost his seat, negotiations began to form a coalition government and select a new Prime Minister.Solomon Islands election: Independents win two-thirds of parliamentary seats
ABC News, 24 November 2014

References

{{Solomon Islands elections Solomons Elections in the Solomon Islands

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 ...