parliamentary constituency
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
electing one representative to the
National Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
of
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 ...
. With an electorate of 30,049 in 2006, it is by far the most heavily populated constituency in the country, being the only one (out of fifty) to consist in more than 20,000 voters. It is one of three parliamentary constituencies in the country's
capital city
A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...
,
Honiara
Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lies ...
- the other two being
Central Honiara
Central Honiara is a single-member constituency of the National Parliament of Solomon Islands. Established in 1997 when the Parliament was increased in size from 47 to 50 seats, it is located in the capital city Honiara
Honiara () is the capit ...
and
West Honiara
West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
.
The constituency has existed since the first Parliament in 1976. Its first MP was
Bartholomew Ulufa’alu
Bartholomew (Bart) Ulufa'alu CMG (25 December 1950 – 25 May 2007) was the prime minister of Solomon Islands from 27 August 1997 to 30 June 2000.Prime Minister
A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
fraud
In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...
. This precipitated a
bye-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
, which
Silas Milikada
Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey.
Name and e ...
won with 3,453 votes.
Opinion polls suggested that Auditor General
Edward Ronia
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
was the most popular candidate to take the seat in the 2010 general election. Ultimately, however, he did not stand. There were twelve candidates for the seat, including nine independents, two rival candidates from OUR Party, and one (
Douglas Ete
Douglas Ete (born 4 August 1964) is a Solomon Islands politician.
After studying at the University of the South Pacific and at Massey University (New Zealand), he worked as Chief Executive Officer at the National Referral Hospital in Solomon Is ...
) from the
Reformed Democratic Party
The Reform Democratic Party of Solomon Islands (RDPSI) was a political party in Solomon Islands founded by MP Danny Philip
Danny Philip (born 5 August 1953) is a politician and diplomat from the Solomon Islands. He was the prime minister of So ...
. Ete won by an overwhelming margin, obtaining 3,178 votes, ahead of second-placed former MP Charles Dausabea (OUR Party), who obtained 958 votes. Voter turnout, however, was only 19%.Official results, 2010 general election ,