(Honiara) The Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare, is the subject of a vote of no confidence on Monday in Honiara, where international peacekeeping forces deployed in the capital are preparing for further riots.
Armed troops and police set up checkpoints around the parliament and cordoned off the streets of downtown Honiara.
The opposition brought forward a motion to oust Mr. Sogavare, accusing him of corruption and using Chinese funds to support his government.
He “willfully compromised our sovereignty for his personal political gain,” Opposition Leader Matthew Wale told lawmakers as debate on the motion began.
Police have imposed a ban on the sale of alcohol on Honiara in hopes of avoiding a repeat of the deadly riots that erupted less than two weeks ago, killing at least three people when the crowds raged for three days to demand the removal of Manasseh Sogavare.
Order had been restored by Australian, Fijian, Papua New Zealand and New Zealand peacekeepers, who split up the capital to patrol with overwhelmed local police.
PHOTO ROBERT TAUPONGI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare
The crisis has been fueled by poverty, unemployment and inter-island rivalry in this nation of 800,000 people. It was exacerbated by Mr Sogavare’s decision to shift Solomons diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China in 2019.
The prospect of further violence prompted the US consulate in Honiara to curtail its activities.
$ 67 million in damage
Large numbers of people left Honiara for the provinces on chartered ferries on Sunday, and containers blocked access to parts of the city center.
On Monday, the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands estimated the damage caused by the riots at 67 million US dollars, adding that 63 buildings in the capital were burnt and looted.
Mr Wale accused Mr Sogavare of using Chinese funds to support his government and condemned the riots, adding that “they are nothing compared to the looting that occurs at the top at the expense of ordinary islanders. Solomon ”.
Mr Wale claimed Beijing was making payments to secure Mr Sogavare’s support ahead of the no-confidence vote.
MP Silas Tausinga said he and other colleagues were offered payments of around US $ 30,000 from a Beijing-funded election fund if they voted to keep the prime minister in power, according to the newspaper The Australian.
Mr. Sogavare, 66, whose fourth term as Prime Minister is, has already been overthrown twice by votes of no confidence.