- Solomon Islands' newly-elected lawmakers on Thursday selected China-friendly former Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele as the country's next prime minister in a secret ballot. Al Jazeera (LR: 2 CP: 1)
- He received 31 votes, while the opposition leader, Matthew Wale, won 18 votes from the 50-seat parliament. One member of parliament reportedly couldn't arrive in the capital in time for the ballot. XINHUA
- The outgoing Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare had already withdrawn his re-election bid after his — and Manele's — OUR Party secured only 15 seats in the April general elections. Washington Post (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- Despite managing to gain four more seats in parliament under a new coalition with two micro-parties, the ruling party still needed support from at least seven independents to gain a majority. Guardian (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- Manele — the country's top diplomat when the archipelago switched its diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China — has indicated that the nation will continue its close ties with Beijing under his leadership. BBC News (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- In his first speech as leader, Manele pledged to put the people's interests first, and urged against post-election violence, which has rocked the country twice over the past five years. Associated Press (LR: 3 CP: 5)
Pro-establishment narrative:
- As the new prime minister is the very person who signed a shocking security deal with China years ago, the PRC will likely maintain its growing influence in the Solomon Islands. However, Manele is thankfully far more conciliatory than Sogavare, so it's unlikely that he will further jeopardize relations with traditional Western allies.
FINANCIAL TIMES
Establishment-critical narrative:
- While the West — and the opposition — sought to make this election all about geopolitical disputes between global powers, ordinary Solomon Islanders simply don't care whether their country deepens ties with China or with traditional partners such as America and Australia. All they want is for their plight to be addressed and Manele is the person to deliver this.
THE CONVERSATION (LR: 2 CP: 3)
Nerd narrative:
- There's a 25% chance that the Solomon Islands will host a Chinese military base before 2032, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
METACULUS (LR: 3 CP: 3)