Solomon Islands general election, 2010
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Danny Philip
Reformed Democratic Party
A general election was held in Solomon Islands on 4 August 2010. In May 2010, Prime Minister Derek Sikua announced that the election would be held on 4 August; however, this announcement was deemed to be premature, as only the Governor General has the authority to announce the election date upon the advice of the Electoral Commission. In the end, this date was used, however.
There were a total of 509 candidates, including 25 women.
On 11 August 2009, lobbying was reported in progress, as several political groups jockeyed to form a coalition government. No candidates for the Solomon Islands leadership post of Prime Minister had yet been announced; however, it appears that three main camps have formed.
The first camp is built around the outgoing government led by Derek Sikua. One of its spokespeople, Matthew Wale, claimed on 13 August that the group has the support of five parties and 30 MPs including the Democratic Party (SIDP, 14 MPs), the National Party (or Nasnol Pati, 3 MPs), the Party for Rural Advancement (SIPRA, 3 MPs), the Liberal Party (2 MPs), the People's Congress Party (PCP, 2 MPs), and six independents. This camp is based at the Heritage Hotel.
A second camp is based around three parties: the Ownership, Unity and Reconciliation (OUR, 4 seats) party, which is led by a former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare; the Direct Development Party (DDP, 2 MPs), which is led by former Director of the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE); and the Reform and Democratic Party (RDP, 2 seats), which is led by a former Deputy Prime Minister Danny Philip. This camp is based at the Pacific Casino Hotel.
A third camp is led by the newly established Independent Democratic Party (IDP), led by Snyder Rini and is based at Honiara Hotel. The IDP's party secretary Leonard Kaitu'u explained that the IDP was the successor to a previous party, the Association of Independent Members. Kaitu'u has suggested that their camp will also get support from the People's Alliance Party (PAP) and the Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement (SIPRA). However, it is not clear whether the PAP won any seats in the new parliament and it is possible that SIPRA will decide to join with the Heritage Hotel camp. A spokesman for the group denied that cash incentives were being used to secure members for the coalition.
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Wikipedia