Daniel Suidani is a

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 ...

politician who served as the Premier of

Malaita Province Malaita Province is the most populous of the nine provinces of Solomon Islands. The population of the province is 122,620 (1999). The area of the province is . It is named after its largest island, Malaita (also known as "Big Malaita" or " ...

from June 2019 until his ouster in a no confidence vote in February 2023.

Tenure

During Suidani's tenure as Premier of Malaita Province, the Solomon Islands government officially switched diplomatic recognition from the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(Taiwan) to the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Suidani was highly critical of this decision, alleging that the Chinese government offered bribes to him in exchange for political allegiance. Suidani has in turn been accused of accepting bribes from the Taiwanese government. In 2020, Suidani held an independence referendum for Malaita Province, which was dismissed as illegitimate by the central government. In October 2021, a motion of no confidence was filed against Suidani, but was withdrawn after protests erupted in support of him. He condemned international interference in the November 2021 Solomon Islands unrest. On 7 February 2023, he was removed from office after a vote of no confidence from the provincial legislature. In 2022, Suidani founded the

Umi for Change Party The Umi for Change Party (U4C) is a political party in the Solomon Islands. The party was founded in 2022 by Premier of Malaita Province Daniel Suidani. History Suidani, a vocal critic of the Sogavare government's switch of diplomatic recogni ...

. In a letter dated March 20, 2023, the Solomon Islands government declared Suidani "unfit for office" due to his stand against China. National Minister for Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening Rollen Seleso disqualified Suidani from holding his seat in the Malaita Provincial Assembly and the Speaker of the Malaita Provincial Assembly, Ronnie Butafa, was advised by the government to declare Suidani's seat - Ward 5 of Baegu-West Fataleka - officially vacant. Suidani and his supporters accused Prime Minister

Manasseh Sogavare Manasseh Damukana Sogavare (born 17 January 1955) is a Solomon Islander politician serving as Minister of Finance since 2024. He served as the prime minister of Solomon Islands for a total of nine years from 2000–2001, 2006–2007, 2014–2017 ...

of being behind his ouster vowed the appeal his ban from office. In 2024, Suidani was reelected to the seat in Malaita Provincial Assembly.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Premiers of Malaita Province Members of the Malaita Provincial Assembly 21st-century politicians People from Malaita Province {{Solomons-politician-stub