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 capit ...

on 5 April 2006. No party won more than four of the fifty seats, while thirty seats went to

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 ...

. A number of those subsequently formed an Association of Independent Members of Parliament, with

Snyder Rini Snyder Rini (born 27 July 1948Rini CV at Parliament website
) is a

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 ...

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 ...

on 18 April, amidst "widespread street protests" in Honiara, which caused particular damage in the city's Chinatown. Rioters "alleged corruption and insisted that Mr. Rini had been unfairly favouring Chinese businessmen". While the riots ceased with the arrival of Australian and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

peacekeeping troops the next day, the opposition soon lodged a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

in Rini's premiership. Rini resigned on 26 April, having been Prime Minister for just eight days. Opposition parties united in a coalition and succeeded in having

Manasseh Sogavare Manasseh Damukana Sogavare (born 17 January 1955) is the sixth and current Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, serving since 24 April 2019. He previously held the office in 2000–2001, 2006—2007 and 2014–2017; in all he has served over ni ...

, of the

Solomon Islands Social Credit Party The Solomon Islands Social Credit Party ("Socreds") is a political party in the Solomon Islands that espouses social credit theories of monetary reform. It is led by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, previously leader of the People's Progressive ...

, elected Prime Minister on 4 May.

Conduct

Australia sent a ten-member observer delegation to monitor the election, led by Senator

Marise Payne Marise Ann Payne (born 29 July 1964) is an Australian politician who served in the Morrison Government as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2022 and as Minister for Women from 2019 to 2022. She has been a Senator for New South Wales si ...

, and comprising MPs Bob Sercombe and Michael Ferguson, former Queensland Electoral Commissioner Bob Longland, and six experienced officials from the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Defence and

AusAID Australian Aid is the brand name used to identify projects in developing countries supported by the Australian Government. As of 2014 the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has been responsible for Australia's official development ...

. The Australian observer delegation was joined by other international observer teams from

, Japan, the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, the

Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads o ...

and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. The United Nations Electoral Assistance Division coordinated the consolidated international observer effort. The international observers' interim assessment said the polling process was transparent and well-conducted, and voters were able to exercise a free and secret vote.

Results

Twenty-six women candidates stood in the election, but none were elected, making the Solomons' Parliament one of the world's few all-male legislatures."Women call for change in perception"
, Lora Lini, ''Vanuatu Daily Post'', 4 February 2009

References

{{Solomon Islands elections

Elections in the Solomon Islands 2006 in the Solomon Islands Election and referendum articles with incomplete results