By Max Bartels
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania
Honiara, Solomon Islands
Corruption is endemic in the Solomon Islands, the small island nation is in the process of an election and there are concerns that there is no cure to suppress the rampant corruption. A High Court Judge in Australia has stated that the country is in desperate need of a special taskforce to tackle the corruption. According to the Judge it is so prevalent that there is no debate about its existence and no attempt to hide any corrupt practices. Corruption dominates every aspect of society, from government, politics, the police, to private industry and business. There is a call for an international and independent commission; the corruption would immediately taint any commission formed domestically.
The Current election in the Solomon Islands is the first since an Australian led peace keeping force has scaled down operations in 2013. The operation was deployed to stop systemic ethnic violence and restore order. An anti-corruption watchdog called Transparency Solomon Islands has asked all candidates to sign an anti-corruption pledge. The pledge simply states that if the candidate is voted into office the candidate promises not to accept bribes or give bribes. So far 73 out of the 400 candidates for political office have singed on.
At present, Transparency Solomon Islands is concerned about the integrity of the election process and election fraud is a major concern. There is not the same international support for the election in the Solomon Islands as there was a few months ago for the Fiji election but Transparency states that the concern is just as pressing. Transparency claims that part of the problem is that education is not advanced in many of the rural areas of the islands, and that there is a lack of awareness that corruption, such as vote buying and selling is counterproductive to the democratic process.
Many voters will take days and even weeks to get to the nearest poling station, arriving by foot and by boat. 280,000 voters are registered for the election from across the many islands that make up the Solomons’. This final number was reached after 160,000 fraudulent registrations were screened out by an audit. The election is being conducted according to a biometric voter registration system. Registered voters receive a individualized biometric registration card, in an effort to cut down on fraud and keep others from voting in someone’s stead. However, once the cards were issued many were sold and exchanged as currency for money or gifts.
For more information, please see:
BBC News — Solomon Islanders Vote in First Post- Ramsi Election — 19 November, 2014
ABC News — Polls Close in Solomon Islands’ Genreal Election — 19 November 2014
