parliamentary constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
electing one representative to 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 ...
of
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 capit ...
. With an electorate of 30,049 in 2006, it is by far the most heavily populated constituency in the country, being the only one (out of fifty) to consist in more than 20,000 voters. It is one of three parliamentary constituencies in the country's
capital city
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...
, Honiara - the other two being Central Honiara and West Honiara.
The constituency has existed since the first Parliament in 1976. Its first MP was
Bartholomew Ulufa’alu
Bartholomew (Bart) Ulufa'alu (25 December 1950 – 25 May 2007) was the fifth Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 27 August 1997 to 30 June 2000.Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
the 2006 general election, but subsequently lost his seat was he was convicted and jailed for fraud. This precipitated a
bye-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
, which Silas Milikada won with 3,453 votes.
Opinion polls suggested that Auditor General
Edward Ronia
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
was the most popular candidate to take the seat in the 2010 general election. Ultimately, however, he did not stand. There were twelve candidates for the seat, including nine independents, two rival candidates from OUR Party, and one (
Douglas Ete
Douglas Ete (born 4 August 1964) is a Solomon Islands politician.
After studying at the University of the South Pacific and at Massey University (New Zealand), he worked as Chief Executive Officer at the National Referral Hospital in Solomon I ...
) from the Reformed Democratic Party. Ete won by an overwhelming margin, obtaining 3,178 votes, ahead of second-placed former MP Charles Dausabea (OUR Party), who obtained 958 votes. Voter turnout, however, was only 19%.