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Solomons parliament elects new prime minister

Posted on: Wednesday, 3 May 2006, 23:38 CDT

By Walter Nalangu

HONIARA (Reuters) - The Solomon Islands' parliament elected a new prime minister on Thursday to replace Snyder Rini, whose election last month sparked rioting that forced him to resign after just six days.

One of several key ministers whose cross to the opposition forced Rini to step down, Manasseh Sogavare, became the South Pacific nation's second prime minister in less than a month.

Sogavare, who was prime minister between 2000 and 2001, defeated Fred Fono by 28 votes to 22 in a secret parliamentary ballot, government spokesman Johnson Honimae said.

His election was greeted with cheers from around 300 people who had gathered outside the parliament in the capital, Honiara, amid tight security by foreign troops and police.

"The parliament has made a decision for change. This is an important change that people in the Solomons have been looking forward to," Sogavare told the crowd, before urging them to celebrate his election peacefully.

Nearly 400 troops and an extra 120 police from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Papua New Guinea were sent to Honiara to help quell protests over Rini's election on April 18, which spiraled into two days of violent rioting and looting.

The tiny Chinese business population in Honiara was targeted and most of the city's Chinatown was destroyed because of rumors that aid money from Taiwan was used to help elect Rini and that his government was heavily influenced by local Chinese businessmen.

Two politicians opposed to Rini have been charged in relation to the riots and remanded in custody, but both were allowed to vote from their cells in the latest leadership ballot.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has said that, regardless of who is elected prime minister, the nation of 992 islands spread over 1.35 million square km (520,000 square miles) would struggle to end corruption and political instability.

Voters ousted half the parliament in April's national election, which was dominated by corruption. Seven ministers in the last government faced graft charges.

The Solomons, once a British protectorate known as "The Happy Isles," was on the brink of collapse in 2003 because of ethnic fighting, prompting Australia to lead a multinational peacekeeping force to restore peace.

Source: REUTERS

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