With Many Watching, Solomon Islands Holds National Elections

December 4, 2001 5:05 PM

With Many Watching, Solomon Islands Holds National Elections
We called it a "failed state." Polling has begun in the Solomon Islands for a new national Parliament. Many are watching and hoping that a new government will restore a semblance of order to the cities and revive the bankrupt economy. There is practically no law in the cities, since the coup last year. Citizens of Honiara, the capital recently blockaded the home of PM Sogavare in protest of his unwillingness to quell ongoing ethnic militia warfare. The national airline ran out of gasoline yesterday, stranding voters returning to their home provinces. But this is the age of the Internet, and SI Brodcasting Co. and Radio Australia are providing live coverage online.
posted by rschram (3 comments total)

(I never have anything much to say about these Pacific threads you post, rschram, but I do love them, in case you're wondering if anyone cares. Just thought I'd give you a thumbs up.)
posted by rodii at 9:48 PM on December 4, 2001

Well, they could be having real problems, such as a fruit fly disaster. {deadpan}

Honestly, I think they're edging very close to the brink here, and hope they pull back and pull through. I suspect there might be more to say about this after the results are in, though.
posted by dhartung at 10:54 PM on December 4, 2001

Well, that was anticlimatic (Low turnout in the capital).
posted by rschram at 7:32 AM on December 5, 2001