About the election
Short description of the context and results of the election.
The 2014 elections returned a fragmented parliament. A record 32 independent candidates were elected to the 50-member Parliament, up from 19 in 2010. They included former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. Outgoing Finance Minister Rick Houenipwela's Democratic Alliance Party came in first with seven seats, followed by the United Democratic Party and the People's Alliance Party which took five and three seats respectively. Prime Minister Mr. Gordon Darcy Lilo, who had led the ruling coalition called the National Coalition for Rural Advancement (NCRA) since 2012, lost his seat. Ms. Freda Comua was elected, becoming the third woman only in the country to win parliamentary representation.
Following the elections, Mr. Sogavare established the Democratic Coalition for Change (DCC) in view of forming a new government. The DCC comprised the United Democratic Party and the Kadere Party (which took one seat) as well as a number of independents who had previously held high-level government positions. On 10 December, Parliament elected Mr. Sogavare as Prime Minister with 31 votes. He defeated Mr. Jeremiah Manele (Democratic Alliance Party), who took the remaining 19 votes. The latter's candidacy was supported by the Solomon Islands Peoples Democratic Coalition (SIPDC, see note). Prime Minister Sogavare promised to rebuild the country's economy through foreign investment. On 17 December, Parliament elected Mr. Ajilon Jasper Nasiu, as its new Speaker. He defeated Ms. Taeasi Sanga, the long-serving Clerk, nominated by Opposition Leader Manele (SIPDC) and Independent Leader Mr. Manasseh Maelanga.
Prior to the elections, Prime Minister Lilo introduced biometric voter registration and issued voter identification cards to prevent people from casting multiple votes. More than 280,000 voters were registered for the 2014 elections, after an audit had removed 160,000 fraudulent registrations. Official turnout figures in 2014 were significantly higher than in previous elections.
Note: the Solomon Islands Peoples Democratic Coalition (SIPDC) was formed by the Democratic Alliance Party, the Peoples' Alliance Party, the Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement and Solomon Islands People First Party.