Politics of the Solomon Islands
Encyclopedia
Politics of Solomon Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary
representative democratic
monarchy
within the Commonwealth
, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government
, and of a multi-party system
. Solomon Islands
is an independent country and Commonwealth Realm
. Executive power
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government
and parliament.
Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association. The Judiciary
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
is represented in Solomon Islands
by a governor general who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. The Governor-General of Solomon Islands is elected by parliament.
Solomon Islands governments are characterized by weak political parties and highly unstable parliamentary coalitions. They are subject to frequent votes of no confidence, and government leadership changes frequently as a result. Cabinet changes are common.
The Prime Minister, elected by Parliament, chooses the other members of the cabinet
. Each ministry is headed by a cabinet member, who is assisted by a permanent secretary, a career public servant, who directs the staff of the ministry. The cabinet consists members, including the Prime Minister and ministers of executive departments. They answer politically to the House of Assembly.
The Governor General appoints the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The Governor General appoints the other justices with the advice of a judicial commission. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
(based in the United Kingdom) serves as the highest appellate court.
|Executive
|Elizabeth II
|
|7 July 1978
|-
|Governor General
|Frank Kabui
|
|7 July 2009
|-
|Prime Minister
|Gordon Lilo Darcy
|National Coalition for Reform and Advancement
|16 November 2010
|}
The National Parliament has 50 members, elected for a four year term in single-seat constituencies. Solomon Islands have a multi-party system, with numerous parties
in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties
must work with each other to form coalition government
s. Parliament may be dissolved by majority vote of its members before the completion of its term. Parliamentary representation is based on single-member constituencies. Suffrage
is universal for citizens over age 18.
s administered by elected provincial assemblies, and the 10th is the town of Honiara
, administered by the Honiara Town Council.
The first post-independence government was elected in August 1980. Prime Minister Peter Kenilorea
was head of government until September 1981, when he was succeeded by Solomon Mamaloni
as the result of a realignment within the parliamentary coalitions. Following the November 1984 elections, Kenilorea was again elected Prime Minister, to be replaced in 1986 by his former deputy Ezekiel Alebua
following shifts within the parliamentary coalitions. The next election, held in early 1989, returned Solomon Mamaloni as Prime Minister. Francis Billy Hilly
was elected Prime Minister following the national elections in June 1993, and headed the government until November 1994 when four Cabinet Ministers were allegedly bribed by a foreign logging company to shift their parliamentary loyalties and bring Solomon Mamaloni back to power. page 32 http://www.native-net.org/archive/nl/9512/0134.html
The national election of 6 August 1997 resulted in Bartholomew Ulufa'alu
’s election as Prime Minister, heading a coalition government, which christened itself the Solomon Islands Alliance for Change
. In June 2000, an insurrection mounted by militants from the island of Malaita
resulted in the brief detention of Ulufa’alu and his subsequent forced resignation. Prior to this Ulufa'alu had requested Australian intervention to stabilise the deteriorating situation in Solomon Islands, which was refused. Manasseh Sogavare
, leader of the People's Progressive Party
, was chosen Prime Minister by a loose coalition of parties. New elections in December 2001 brought Sir Allan Kemakeza into the Prime Minister’s chair with the support of a coalition of parties. Bartholomew Ulufa’alu was Leader of the Opposition.
Kemakeza, attempted to address the deteriorating law and order situation in the country, but the prevailing atmosphere of lawlessness, widespread extortion
, and ineffective police, prompted a formal request by the Solomon Islands Government for outside help. In July 2003, Australian and Pacific Island police and troops arrived in the Solomon Islands under the auspices of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). The mission, consisting of a policing effort, military support, and a large development component, largely restored law and order to Honiara and the other provinces of Solomon Islands. Efforts are now underway to identify a donor base and reestablish credible systems of governance and financial management.
In the 2006 legislative election Kemakeza's People's Alliance Party suffered a major defeat, losing more than half its seats. However Deputy Prime Minister Synder Rini succeeded in gaining the support of enough Independent Members of Parliament to form government. This resulted in rioting in the capital of Honiara. Much of the violence was directed at Chinese businessmen who were accused of influencing the election result. Reinforcements to RAMSI stabilised the situation, but not before serious damage was done to the nation's already fragile economy. Rini resigned shortly before a motion of no confidence was due to take place, and was succeeded by Manasseh Sogavare, a former Prime Minister.
The inability of RAMSI to oversee a peaceful election has raised serious doubts about the success of the mission.
, citizenship was granted to all persons whose parents are or were both British
protected persons and members of a group, tribe, or line indigenous to the Solomon Islands. The law provides that resident expatriate
s, such as the Chinese
and Kiribati
, may obtain citizenship through naturalization
. Land generally is still held on a family or village basis and may be handed down from mother or father according to local custom. The islanders are reluctant to provide land for nontraditional economic undertakings, and this has resulted in continual disputes over land ownership.
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
representative democratic
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
within the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
, and of a multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
is an independent country and Commonwealth Realm
Commonwealth Realm
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...
. Executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and parliament.
Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association. The Judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Executive branch
As head of state, Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
is represented in Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
by a governor general who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. The Governor-General of Solomon Islands is elected by parliament.
Solomon Islands governments are characterized by weak political parties and highly unstable parliamentary coalitions. They are subject to frequent votes of no confidence, and government leadership changes frequently as a result. Cabinet changes are common.
The Prime Minister, elected by Parliament, chooses the other members of the cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
. Each ministry is headed by a cabinet member, who is assisted by a permanent secretary, a career public servant, who directs the staff of the ministry. The cabinet consists members, including the Prime Minister and ministers of executive departments. They answer politically to the House of Assembly.
The Governor General appoints the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The Governor General appoints the other justices with the advice of a judicial commission. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King in Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United...
(based in the United Kingdom) serves as the highest appellate court.
|Executive
Monarch of the Solomon Islands
The monarchy of the Solomon Islands is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of the Solomon Islands. The present monarch of the Solomon Islands is Queen Elizabeth II. The Solomon Islands share the Sovereign with a number of Commonwealth realms...
|Elizabeth II
|
|7 July 1978
|-
|Governor General
Governor-General of the Solomon Islands
The Governor-General of Solomon Islands is the representative of the Queen of Solomon Islands, Elizabeth II. The Queen does not reside in the islands, and so the Governor-General serves as the country's de facto head of state in her absence....
|Frank Kabui
Frank Kabui
Sir Frank Utu Ofagioro Kabui, GCMG, CSI, OBE has been the Governor General of the Solomon Islands since 7 July 2009.He is also a trained judge, having been his country's first law graduate in 1975, and is a former member of the Solomon Islands Bar Association , having twice served as its...
|
|7 July 2009
|-
|Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands
The Prime Minister of Solomon Islands is Solomon Islands' head of government, consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the National Parliament. Solomon Islands is a Commonwealth realm. Since August 2010, the Prime Minister has been Danny Philip of the Reform...
|Gordon Lilo Darcy
|National Coalition for Reform and Advancement
National Coalition for Reform and Advancement
The National Coalition for Reform and Advancement is a political coalition in the Solomon Islands, consisting of seven political parties and entities: the Direct Development Party , the Independent Democratic Party , the OUR Party, the Reform Democratic Party, the Rural and Urban Political Party ,...
|16 November 2010
|}
Legislative branch
Political Parties
Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties
Political Parties
Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
must work with each other to form coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
s. Parliament may be dissolved by majority vote of its members before the completion of its term. Parliamentary representation is based on single-member constituencies. Suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
is universal for citizens over age 18.
Political parties and elections
Local government
For local government, the country is divided into 10 administrative areas, of which nine are provinceProvince
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
s administered by elected provincial assemblies, and the 10th is the town of Honiara
Honiara
Honiara, population 49,107 , 78,190 , is the capital of the Solomon Islands and of Guadalcanal Province, although it is a separately administered town...
, administered by the Honiara Town Council.
Government agencies
Government agencies include:- Correctional Services of Solomon IslandsCorrectional Services of Solomon IslandsCorrectional Services of Solomon Islands is the correctional agency of the government of the Solomon Islands. Previously it was known as the Solomon Islands Prison Service ....
Political conditions
Solomon Islands governments are characterized by weak political parties and highly unstable parliamentary coalitions. They are subject to frequent votes of no confidence, and government leadership changes frequently as a result. Cabinet changes are common.The first post-independence government was elected in August 1980. Prime Minister Peter Kenilorea
Peter Kenilorea
Sir Peter Kenilorea KBE is a Solomon Islands politician, officially styled The Rt. Hon. Sir Peter Kenilorea as a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom....
was head of government until September 1981, when he was succeeded by Solomon Mamaloni
Solomon Mamaloni
Solomon Mamaloni was the second Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands three times:* August 31, 1981 - November 19, 1984* March 28, 1989 - June 18, 1993* November 7, 1994 - August 27, 1997...
as the result of a realignment within the parliamentary coalitions. Following the November 1984 elections, Kenilorea was again elected Prime Minister, to be replaced in 1986 by his former deputy Ezekiel Alebua
Ezekiel Alebua
Ezekiel Alebua was the third Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 1 December 1986 - 28 March 1989. He was the foreign minister of that country from 1981 to 1982. He was the premier of Guadalcanal province from 1998 to 2003, and antagonized some people in that area for not supporting moves to...
following shifts within the parliamentary coalitions. The next election, held in early 1989, returned Solomon Mamaloni as Prime Minister. Francis Billy Hilly
Francis Billy Hilly
Francis Billy Hilly CMG is a Solomon Islands politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 18 June 1993 to 7 November 1994. He represented the Ranogga/Simbo Constituency in the National Parliament from 1976 to 1984, and has represented the constituency again since 1993...
was elected Prime Minister following the national elections in June 1993, and headed the government until November 1994 when four Cabinet Ministers were allegedly bribed by a foreign logging company to shift their parliamentary loyalties and bring Solomon Mamaloni back to power. page 32 http://www.native-net.org/archive/nl/9512/0134.html
The national election of 6 August 1997 resulted in Bartholomew Ulufa'alu
Bartholomew Ulufa'alu
Bartholomew Ulufa'alu was the fifth Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 27 August 1997 to 30 June 2000....
’s election as Prime Minister, heading a coalition government, which christened itself the Solomon Islands Alliance for Change
Solomon Islands Alliance for Change
The Solomon Islands Alliance for Change is a political alliance in the Solomon Islands, led by the Solomon Islands Liberal Party which was headed by Bartholomew Ulufa'alu until his death in May 2007....
. In June 2000, an insurrection mounted by militants from the island of Malaita
Malaita
Malaita is the largest island of the Malaita Province in the Solomon Islands. A tropical and mountainous island, Malaita's pristine river systems and tropical forests have not been exploited. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with 140,000 people or more than a third of the...
resulted in the brief detention of Ulufa’alu and his subsequent forced resignation. Prior to this Ulufa'alu had requested Australian intervention to stabilise the deteriorating situation in Solomon Islands, which was refused. Manasseh Sogavare
Manasseh Sogavare
Manasseh Damukana Sogavare was the sixth Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2006 to 2007. He has served in the National Parliament as Member for East Choiseul since 1997, and he is currently the Leader of the Opposition.-Biography:Sogavare was Permanent...
, leader of the People's Progressive Party
People's Progressive Party (Solomon Islands)
The People's Progressive Party is a political party in the Solomon Islands. It was the dominant party in the country under diverse names in the seventies, eighties and nineties under its then leader Solomon Mamaloni. Mamaloni served as prime minister from 1981 to 1984, 1989 to 1993 and 1994 to...
, was chosen Prime Minister by a loose coalition of parties. New elections in December 2001 brought Sir Allan Kemakeza into the Prime Minister’s chair with the support of a coalition of parties. Bartholomew Ulufa’alu was Leader of the Opposition.
Kemakeza, attempted to address the deteriorating law and order situation in the country, but the prevailing atmosphere of lawlessness, widespread extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
, and ineffective police, prompted a formal request by the Solomon Islands Government for outside help. In July 2003, Australian and Pacific Island police and troops arrived in the Solomon Islands under the auspices of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). The mission, consisting of a policing effort, military support, and a large development component, largely restored law and order to Honiara and the other provinces of Solomon Islands. Efforts are now underway to identify a donor base and reestablish credible systems of governance and financial management.
In the 2006 legislative election Kemakeza's People's Alliance Party suffered a major defeat, losing more than half its seats. However Deputy Prime Minister Synder Rini succeeded in gaining the support of enough Independent Members of Parliament to form government. This resulted in rioting in the capital of Honiara. Much of the violence was directed at Chinese businessmen who were accused of influencing the election result. Reinforcements to RAMSI stabilised the situation, but not before serious damage was done to the nation's already fragile economy. Rini resigned shortly before a motion of no confidence was due to take place, and was succeeded by Manasseh Sogavare, a former Prime Minister.
The inability of RAMSI to oversee a peaceful election has raised serious doubts about the success of the mission.
Land ownership
Land ownership is reserved for Solomon Islanders. At the time of independenceIndependence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
, citizenship was granted to all persons whose parents are or were both British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
protected persons and members of a group, tribe, or line indigenous to the Solomon Islands. The law provides that resident expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
s, such as the Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Kiribati
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
, may obtain citizenship through naturalization
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
. Land generally is still held on a family or village basis and may be handed down from mother or father according to local custom. The islanders are reluctant to provide land for nontraditional economic undertakings, and this has resulted in continual disputes over land ownership.