Solomons bill to defer the dissolution of parliament passed

A controversial constitutional amendment intending to defer the dissolution of Solomon Islands' parliament in 2023 by seven months has been passed in the house.

During the second reading of the Constitution Amendment Bill 2022 the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare reiterated his reasoning for the extension.

"The democratic coalition government is steadfast in its decision to delay the dissolution of this current house. The reasons are simple and we have consistently said this since day one," Sogavare said.

"We cannot successfully host the national general elections and the Pacific Games in the same year while our economy is still recovering from the impacts of Covid-19 and the damage caused by public unrest."

But this was disputed by the leader of opposition Matthew Wale in his contribution to the ensuing debate saying he saw no reason why both events couldn't be held in the same year.

"This bill is the result of a scheme by the prime minister to remain in power for longer than is necessary at the cost of the voters' right to exercise their votes at the general election in 2023." Matthew Wale said.

He accused the prime minister of trying to hide the fact that his cabinet had approved the deferrment of parliament in February 2021.

"Since 2021 the prime minister schemed to not allocate resources to the electoral commission for elections preparations in the normal manner."

"Sir government did not undertake any meaningful, objective public consultations on the cabinet decision of February 2021...government by secrecy Sir is government by deception," said Matthew Wale.

Manasseh Sogavare denied Wale's accusations in his closing remarks before the bill passed its second reading.

Adding to the controversy surrounding the bill was the urgency with which the prime minister pushed the legislation through the house.

After passing its second reading and progressing through the committee of the whole house, a motion was moved by the chairman of the Bills and Legislation Committee, John Maneniaru, for the bill to undergo the scrutiny of his parliamentary committee. The motion was defeated by the government.

Canberra's offer

Manasseh Sogavare's core argument for tabling the constitutional amendment - a lack of funding - was scuttled this week after Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong revealed they had offered to help fund the election in 2023.

And while Honiara has yet to officially respond to Canberra's offer of election funding support, Sogavare slammed the timing of minister Wong's statement.

"It was announced on the day that this bill was read for the first time," Sogavare said.

"The announcement by the Australian foreign affairs minister is seen by the government of Solomon Islands as an attempt to directly interfere Mr Speaker into our domestic affairs.

"Especially when this is a matter that is before this very house," he said.

Timing aside, the opposition leader Matthew Wale asked if election funding was now no longer an issue what then was the motive for delaying the election?

"There never was any need to choose between whether to hold the general elections or host the Pacific Games. We can and should hold both in 2023," said Wale.

"It is an abuse of process and a hijacking of the people's right to exercise their vote."

Having now been passed the dissolution of Solomon Islands parliament in 2023 has been deferred from May to December, delaying the national election to early in 2024 and effectively giving Sogavare's DCGA government more time in office.

Sogavare remains adamant the move is a practical exercise reflecting the economic realities of a country emerging from the global pandemic.

But Wale warned it sets a dangerous precedent for future governments.

What is in the constitutional amendment?

Members on both sides of the house contributed to the debate on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2022.

MPs on the opposition side lamented the lack of independent and objective consultation on the bill while government MPs tried to downplay its significance.

Not less than two-thirds of the votes in the 50 member house were required to pass the constitutional amendment.

In the end it passed the third reading with 37 MPs voting yes and 10 voting no. There were zero abstentions, but two MPs were absent, for the vote.

The Act will commence on the day appointed by the Minister by notice in the government Gazette.

This date would have been May 2023 for the current parliament.

Now, under the new Act this 11th parliament will end and stand dissolved on December 31, 2023.