Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has moved to delay elections citing the build-up to the Pacific Games in November 2023 as a reason.
The move comes after South Pacific expert Cleo Paskal warned in March that Sogavare—who has cultivated deep ties with Beijing—could be emboldened to tighten control over the Pacific nation, a key goal of the Chinese Communist Party’s “entropic warfare.”
On Aug. 8, the Sogavare government submitted the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2022 to Parliament, which aims to delay the nation’s elections by six months until Dec. 31, 2023. Originally parliament was supposed to be dissolved in May 2023. An election must normally be held within four months of parliament’s dissolution….