Events in

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

, during

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Events

April

*April 3 **General elections were held in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

. They were the first general elections since the RAMSI mission concluded in 2017. On 24 April 2019, Manasseh Sogavare was elected by the 11th National Parliament as

Prime Minister of Solomon Islands The prime minister of Solomon Islands is Solomon Islands' head of government, consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the National Parliament. Since April 2019, the prime minister has been Manasseh Sogava ...

August

* August 13 **

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

n police confirmed they had foiled an assassination plot against

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi. * August 24 **Parliamentary elections were held in

Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...

. President Baron Waqa lost his seat in Boe Constituency, making him ineligible for a third term. Following the elections,

Lionel Aingimea Lionel Rouwen Aingimea (born 2 September 1965) is a Nauruan lawyer and politician. He served as the fifteenth president of Nauru from 2019 to 2022. He currently serves as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru. Early life Aingimea was born i ...

was elected president, winning a parliamentary vote 12–6 against David Adeang.

September

* September 9 **General elections were held in

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northeast ...

Enele Sopoaga Enele Sosene Sopoaga PC (born 10 February 1956) is a Tuvaluan diplomat and politician who was Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2013 to 2019. Sopoaga was elected to Parliament in the 2010 general election. He served as Deputy Prime Minister and Mi ...

, the caretaker prime minister was re-elected to parliament. However, the members of parliament elected Kausea Natano as prime minister.

November

* November 23 –

2019 Bougainvillean independence referendum A non-binding independence referendum was held in Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea, between 23 November and 7 December 2019. The referendum question was a choice between greater autonomy within Papua New Guinea and full i ...

. * 81 deaths from measles outbreak from lack of vaccination in Samoa

December

* 5 December **The deadly measles epidemic in Samoa has led to the United Nations'

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

to deploy 128 medical teams to assist in vaccination efforts. The UN's

Central Emergency Response Fund The Central Emergency Response Fund (, CERF/FCIU) is a humanitarian fund established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 15, 2005 and launched in March 2006. With CERF’s objectives to 1) promote early action and response to reduc ...

(CERF) allocated $2.7 million to support the response. * December 7 A non-binding

independence referendum An independence referendum is a type of referendum in which the residents of a territory decide whether the territory should become an Independence, independent sovereign state. An independence referendum that results in a vote for independence ...

was held in Bougainville, an autonomous

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, between 23 November and 7 December 2019. * December 11 - The results of the

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

are announced. Over 98% of the votes are in favour of independence.

References

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