Solomon Islands’ pro-China prime minister to give up post in wake of elections
MELBOURNE — Solomon Islands’ pro-Beijing Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on Monday withdrew from the contest to remain head of the strategically important South Pacific island nation’s government following general elections two weeks ago that are central to the U.S.-China rivalry in the region.
Sogavare has been reelected to the parliament. But he told a news conference in the capital, Honiara, on Monday he would not be nominated as a candidate when the 50 newly elected lawmakers vote Thursday for the prime minister, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Sogavare had hoped to become the first Solomons prime minister to maintain power in consecutive four-year terms after the April 17 election. During his previous term, China’s influence increased more in the Solomons than anywhere else in the South Pacific.
The Solomon Islands switched diplomatic allegiances from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact with China.
Sogavare switched diplomatic allegiances from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region.
Sogavare said in his news conference that he had been “vilified by media” and his family had been subjected to “unprecedented abuse,” the ABC reported.
Sogavare’s Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party, known as OUR Party, won 15 seats in the election, more than any other party. The party’s candidate for prime minister will be Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele.
A prime minister needs the support of at least 26 lawmakers in the 50-seat chamber.
In its latest move to counter China’s push into the Pacific, the United States has reopened an embassy in the Solomon Islands after a 30-year absence.
Observers believe it is likely that China secretly backed other candidates in addition to Sogavare in the election in a bid to ensure the government change does not diminish Beijing’s influence.
Sogavare could again return to power during the current four-year term. He was elected prime minister after the last election in 2019. But he has served as prime minister three times before 2019 because his predecessors quit or were ousted by fellow lawmakers in a precarious political system.
McGuirk writes for the Associated Press.
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