A Week Of Records

"Those good gestures come only at election time and immediately disappear, whether or not a candidate made it to parliament," they said.

When asked. "Do you come to the media because you were not given any of those pots, or because you feel it is wrong?" they both answered: "We don't think it is right and even if we are given any of those things, we won't be accepting them".

The women didn't hide the fact that they were supporting a female candidate. They said women should only vote for women candidates because men have always dominated leadership at the parliamentary level, one reason why they have not seen much change to life in the village. They felt that the free handouts were nothing short of bribery. They knew too that such gestures are short-lived. It was my colleague's next comment that made me turn.

"I suggest you take whatever you were given. But it does not mean you have to vote for that candidate. You don't have to feel bad about it because you are not stealing from him," he said.

The two women giggled at the suggestion. Their faces showed exposure to the harsh conditions of the rain, sun and wind from a very early age. But even that could not conceal their concern. Since parliament was dissolved on Dec 20 last year, there were no shortage of stories of good deeds done at the eleventh hour by sitting MPs and new candidates. Consignments of building materials and water tanks were shipped from Honiara to every corner of Solomon Islands. Rural people saw their elected leaders after a long while--some, for the first time in four years. Projects that people thought were not ever possible were erected in just days.

Electoral Commission personnel are seen here counting the ballots during the April 5 election. [Photo: SIBC]

It was Solomon Island's 8th General Elections, but the first to have clocked a record number of 26 women contestants (although not one of them won a seat), the highest number (13) of political parties, the highest number of contesting candidates-- 453 in all--and the highest number of registered voters. The voter's list was put at over 300-thousand registered voters--more than half the population. It was the first election to use the new single ballot box voting system, and the first to attract a 44 strong-member team of international observers--the majority of whom came from the Commonwealth. It was hoped that the one ballot box system would minimize as much as possible, corrupt practices like vote buying, an evil that has marred past elections at both the provincial and national levels.

With the presence of both the police and military components of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), everybody knew that the 2006 general election was going to be gun-free, unlike 2001 when the election was held amidst the presence of high-powered weapons, and when not all of the then-elected MPs had won without the threat of violence.

There was a national yearning for a clean election. The Governor General also spoke about the need to elect suitable legislators from 2006. And with enthusiastic donor support, voter awareness groups were formed. Their main mission was to convince as many people as possible to vote in leaders who have good leadership qualities, rather than sell their votes. On this premise, the voter awareness groups embarked on the campaign for a clean election. How much they have achieved is open to analysis.

Many people also hold the view that the one ballot box system had only limited success. It was employed in the hope that candidates would think twice about buying votes. And if it had to some degree worked, it had created another monster--the registration of ghost names on the voter lists--and the tactic of some people to vote more than once at different polling stations. At one Honiara polling station, the number of ballots counted was more than the list of voters. Complaints about the same problem are slowly emerging from elsewhere in the country. The supposedly indelible ink marking the finger of someone who has already voted was easily removed with betel nut fruit fibre. The Electoral Commission would soon find out that the list carrying its' "record number" of registered voters may have been inflated for this reason.

Most political parties formed just before the date of the election, making it difficult for people to believe or understand their policies. Some candidates in the 2006 election revived one of the oldest political parties, the United Party, with the hope that people would respect the name, but it failed to win a single seat.

Local political analyst, Sam Alasia once remarked that no one political party has remained long enough to wield and command the support of the people. But Alasia said for the first time in this election, political parties really came out and fielded candidates in the rural constituencies.

The president of the National Council of Women described the loss by women candidates as a very sad moment in the history of Solomon Islands. Hilda Kari, herself a contestant in the election, is the only woman MP to have served in parliament for 16 years in the past. Kari says a parliament without women is like a home or a family without a mother.

"Without a woman in parliament, the sufferings, hardships and cries of the ordinary people will once again be low in the government's list of priorities."

The Commonwealth election observer group was also disappointed that none of the female candidates won a seat. The group observed that more should be done to facilitate the participation of women at the highest level of decision making in the country. Its leader, former Papua New Guinea Chief Justice Sir Arnold Amet, said the voter registry and the entire registration process needs an overhaul.

"We strongly recommend that there should be an urgent review of the status of the electoral commission to ensure it is completely independent with adequate resources and permanent staff," he declared. "There is also a need for a comprehensive review of electoral legislation, particularly in regard to provisions or lack of provisions for absentee voting…Due consideration should be given to formalising and strengthening the political party system to promote political stability in the country….This would also promote accountability by the elected members to their respective constituencies."

The group hit the nail on the head. The recommendations call for attention to well known problems. The election results reflected the will of the majority of people who exercised their constitutional right to vote. They have replaced half the members of the former parliament with new members. A new government is taking shape, but life in the villages, and for the two Guadalcanal women who visited our newsroom, remains the same.