Jeremiah Manele named as new Solomon Islands PM
Solomon Islands lawmakers selected Jeremiah Manele as their new prime minister on Thursday, elevating the former foreign minister who had pledged to continue the Pacific Island nation's international policy that drew it closer to China. Governor General Sir David Vunagi announced outside parliament house that Manele won 31 votes to opposition leader Matthew Wales' 18 votes in the 50-seat parliament. A national election last month saw incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's government lose half of its seats but failed to deliver a majority to any political party. The government and opposition parties lobbied intensively for weeks to win support from independents ahead of the vote for prime minister. Police boosted security in the capital Honiara as newly elected lawmakers arrived at parliament on Thursday to vote in a secret ballot. The election was closely watched by China, the US and neighbouring Australia because of the potential impact on regional security. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he looked forward to working closely with Manele. "Australia and Solomon Islands are close friends and our futures are connected," he wrote on the social media platform X. China's embassy said in a Facebook post it looked forward to working with Manele to develop "China-Solomon Islands relations". (Reuters)