Solomon Islands tallies votes amid tug-of-war between US and China
Voters across nearly 900 islands await results as incumbent pro-China PM Manasseh Sogavare faces Western-backed opposition leader Peter Kenilorea Jr. amidst geopolitical stand-off between Beijing and Washington for regional influence.
Vote counting is under way in the Solomon Islands, a tiny nation within the South Pacific, as local and international communities keenly await the final results. / Photo: AFP
Vote counting is under way in the South Pacific's Solomon Islands, a contest keenly watched from afar as China's efforts to stamp its mark on the region are tested.
Ballots were trucked into a heavily guarded counting centre in the capital Honiara, watched over by international teams of uniformed Fijian soldiers and Australian police.
In the outermost reaches of the volcanic archipelago, ballot boxes were still making their way to provincial hubs for tallying — potentially delaying some results by days.
Chief electoral officer Jasper Anisi said on Thursday that "everything is peaceful" so far — no mean feat in a nation where elections have often spilled over into violence.
Hand counting the paper votes is only the start of an arduous electoral process.
Once the parliament's 50 members are finally elected, they will begin bartering with each other behind closed doors to cobble together a ruling coalition.
Only once the dust has settled from this will a prime minister emerge.
US might orchestrate riots — Chinese media
Incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare is among China's most prominent champions in the region, while his main challengers view Beijing's growing influence with a mix of scepticism and alarm.
Startling and unproven claims of foreign interference have upped the ante for a vote already billed as one of the nation's most crucial in a generation.
A leading contender to become the Solomon Islands' next prime minister has meanwhile vowed to rip up a security pact with China.
"If we are in government, we will abolish the security treaty," Peter Kenilorea told AFP from his village base on the island of Malaita.
"We don't think that it's beneficial to the Solomon Islands."
Chinese news outlets have reported that the United States might orchestrate riots to block Sogavare from returning to power.
US Ambassador Ann Marie Yastischock said such rumours were "blatantly misleading".
"We strongly refute allegations being made in known propaganda outlets that claim USAID and the US Government has sought to influence the upcoming election in Solomon Islands," she said in a statement.
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