General elections were held in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

on 22 June 1976. Although contested by three political parties (the People's Progressive Party, the National Democratic Party and the Melanesian Action Party), the

Independent Group Independent Group may refer to: *Independent Group (art movement), a group of artists *Independent Group (Kenya), a defunct political party in Kenya *Independent Group (Solomon Islands), a political faction in the Solomon Islands *Independent Group ...

emerged as the largest group in the Legislative Assembly, and elected

Peter Kenilorea Sir Peter Kenilorea (23 May 1943 – 24 February 2016) was a Solomon Islander politician, officially styled The Rt Hon. Sir Peter Kenilorea as a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. He was the first prime minister of an independ ...

Chief Minister.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II'', p795

Results

A total of 177 candidates contested the elections. Only fourteen incumbent MLAs were re-elected, with two ministers – David Thuguvoda and Ashley Wickham – losing their seats. Kenilorea was elected unopposed in

East ꞌAreꞌare East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

.Elections
Solomon Islands Historical Encyclopaedia 1893–1978 The Independent Group won 15 of the 38 seats, with the National Democratic Party winning eight.

Aftermath

Following the elections, the Legislative Assembly elected the Chief Minister in mid-July,Solomons independence talks in Nov.
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', August 1976, p. 19 with Kenilorea defeating incumbent Chief Minister

Solomon Mamaloni Solomon Sunaone Mamaloni (23 January 1943 – 11 January 2000) was a Solomon Islands politician. He was the first chief minister of the islands, and later served as the prime minister for three spells in the 1980s and 1990s. Biography Mamaloni ...

by 21 votes to 16 in the seventh round of voting.Rumbles in the Solomons: 'quake' feared in assembly
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', December 1976, p16 Kenilorea subsequently formed a new Council of Ministers.A brand new look in the Solomons
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', September 1976, p. 14

References

{{Solomon Islands elections Elections in the Solomon Islands

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

1976 in the Solomon Islands Legislative Assembly of the Solomon Islands Election and referendum articles with incomplete results