Teuila
Fuatai, RNZ Pacific Senior Journalist
New
research on the Solomon Islands’ 2024 election process shows
systemic issues affecting voter trust and rights
persist.
The research from the Australian National
University (ANU) and Solomon Islands National University
(SINU) involved 5342 participants from 15 constituencies
across the country.
The report, released last week,
examines voting and electoral practices around the 18 April
2024 polling day. It is part of an ongoing project looking
at the state of democracy in the Solomon Islands, and builds
on similar projects from the 2019 and 2014
elections.
Overall, the research identifies progress
in some areas, such as political participation from women.
However, other long-standing challenges remain, including
public trust in the accuracy of the voter roll.
Last
year’s election was the first time the provincial and
national government elections were held
simultaneously.
According to the country’s electoral
commission, voter turnout was 83 percent, matching the
previous 2019 election.
Chief electoral officer Jasper
Anisi said while turnout is likely the highest in the
region, cross-border registration continues to cause
dissatisfaction.
Cross-border registration is where
people vote in a constituency where they do not reside,
usually because they have ancestral ties to that area. Under
current electoral laws, the practice is not
illegal.
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ANU’s Dr Colin Wiltshire, the project’s lead
researcher, said people appear divided on the
practice.
The research shows 38 percent of
participants believe it is ‘fair’ for voters with family
ties to register outside their place of residence, while 26
percent say it is ‘never fair’.
Another 20 percent say
voters should have the right to register wherever they
believe their vote holds the most value.
For example,
in the Aoke/Langalanga constituency, research participants
expressed dissatisfaction at the election process because
they felt they were outnumbered by voters who lived in
Malaita and Honiara in their local area.
The feedback
to researchers was that cross-border voting undermines the
ability of their local community to elect representatives
who prioritise their needs.
According to electoral
regulations, voters can register in a constituency they have
lived in for at least six months.
People are also
eligible to register in a constituency where they have
ancestral ties. On polling day, however, voters must
physically cast their ballot in the constituency they are
registered to. Some exceptions are made for remote ballots,
such as police officers working on election day.
“You
can see with the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission data
that some constituencies have grown by more than 50 percent,
some as high as 60 percent, while other constituencies have
shrunk in terms of their size,” Wiltshire said.
“But
there is no consistency across the whole of Solomon Islands
in the voter roll increasing at the same
amount.
“Different constituencies are growing
enormously, while other constituencies are contracting or
growing at a very small rate. So, this is an indicator that
cross-border registrations are not happening only in
Aoke/Langalanga. It is common practice across all of Solomon
Islands.”
The research also highlights how candidate
behaviour contributes to cross-border registrations,
particularly through incentives and material gifts and
benefits.
Notably, 27 percent of participants observed
candidates distributing gifts in their wards, while 14
percent reported instances of cash inducements.
The
report also acknowledges the complexity of addressing these
practices, with traditional gift-giving customs often
blurring the line between cultural obligations and electoral
bribery. That intersection of electoral practices and
traditional customs further complicates enforcement of
electoral regulations, the research says.
Overall, the
report made 16 recommendations to address problems
identified from last year’s election.
With regards to
cross-border registration, Wiltshire said more community
understanding is needed.
“There needs to be civic
awareness of the implications of citizens thinking ‘I will
not vote where I actually reside’. [And how following] a
candidate to a close-by constituency, or even a constituency
a lot further away…is potentially eroding democratic
processes in Solomon Islands.”
Anisi said the Solomon
Islands Electoral Commission is already looking at how to
address accessibility issues for elderly and disabled voters
in the next election in
2028.
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