| Parliament name |
National Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
5 April 2006 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the National Parliament following premature dissolution of this body on 20 December 2005. Elections had previously taken place on 15 December 2001. |
On 23 February 2006
Prime Minister Allan Kemakeza called elections for 5 April 2006 for the National Parliament
which had been dissolved on 20 December 2005.
The 2006 elections were the first since foreign peacekeepers intervened to restore order in the country in June 2003 under the auspices of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). Intermittent clashes had continued between militants from Malaita island and inhabitants of the main island
Guadalcanal.
In the last elections held in 2001
which were marred by allegations of fraud
Prime Minister Kemakeza's People's Alliance Party (PAP) and its allies won 20 seats
followed by the opposition coalition
the Solomon Islands Alliance for Change Coalition (SIACC)
led by the Liberal Party (LP)
which obtained 12. The People's Progress Party (PPP) and the Labour Party won three and one seats respectively
and the remainder went to independents
who subsequently formed an Association of Independent Members of Parliament (AIM).
During the 2006 election campaign
Prime Minister Kemakeza called for voters' support for the country's rebuilding process. The Social Credit Party (Socred)
led by former Prime Minister and former leader of the PPP
Mr. Manasseh Sogavare
criticized the Government for not dealing with economic problems. The LP and the United Party
led by Speaker of Parliament Mr. Peter Kenilorea
also focused on economic issues.
A total of 453 candidates
including a record 24 women
contested the 2006 elections. A total of 50 international observer teams
including from the Commonwealth Secretariat
the South Pacific countries
New Zealand
Australia and Japan monitored the elections. The Commonwealth Observer Group concluded the poll had been peaceful and orderly. Although it recommended that the Electoral Commission improve the registration process
the Group praised the single ballot box system used in the 2006 elections for the first time
compared to the old system of using separate ballot boxes for individual candidates.
In the final election results
no party won more than four seats. Independent candidates
most of whom were reportedly allied to the AIM
took 30 seats in the 50-member parliament. The PAP suffered a setback with its number of seats reduced to three
and 20 ministers voted out of office. The National Party (NP) and the Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement each won four seats
while the Solomon Islands Christian Democratic Party took three. As in the last elections
no women were elected in 2006.
On 16 April
the candidature of Mr. Snyder Rini of the AIM for the post of prime minister triggered widespread street protests in the capital
Honiara
that targeted the Chinatown area. Protesters alleged corruption and insisted that Mr. Rini had been unfairly favoring Chinese businessmen. Protests intensified after Mr. Rini's election as Prime Minister on 18 April
prompting peacekeeping troops from Australia and New Zealand to arrive in the Solomon Islands the following day.
On 24 April
the newly-elected parliament held its first session which was closed to the public and assisted by police and military forces. It re-elected Mr. Peter Kenilorea unopposed as Speaker.
On 26 April
Mr. Rini resigned prior to a no-confidence vote in Parliament
and Mr. Fred Fono became the caretaker Prime Minister. On 27 April
five opposition parties formed a grand coalition
leading to the election of Mr. Manasseh Sogavare (Socred) as the new Prime Minister on 4 May 2006.
|
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 5 April 2006 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
339'688
193'459 (56.95%)
2'456
191'003 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Independents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| National party (NP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Solomon Islands Christian Democratic Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| People's Alliance Party (PAP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Liberal Party (LP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Solomon Social Credit Party (Socred) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Lafari Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
30
|
|
|
|
|
| Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement |
4
|
|
|
|
|
| National party (NP) |
4
|
|
|
|
|
| Solomon Islands Christian Democratic Party |
3
|
|
|
|
|
| People's Alliance Party (PAP) |
3
|
|
|
|
|
| Liberal Party (LP) |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| Solomon Social Credit Party (Socred) |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| Lafari Party |
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
50
0
0.00%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
21 to 30 years
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
|
1
6
23
18
2
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
| Civil/public servants/administrators (including social/development workers) |
21 |
| Business/trade/industry employees
including executives |
11 |
| Educators |
7 |
| Bankers (including invest bankers)/accountants |
3 |
| Clerical occupations |
3 |
| Economists |
1 |
| Legal professions |
1 |
| Consultants (including real estate agents) |
1 |
| Farmers/agricultural workers (including wine growers) |
1 |
| Military/police officers |
1 |
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- National Parliament (16.11.2006)
- http://www.pmc.gov.sb/
- http://www.pacificmagazine.net/ |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
