Comments

Hi Paul, Can I ask about the role of Facebook or other social media more generally... are these also popular for use outside election time to discuss ongoing political issues and controversial decisions? Are they particularly captured by specific groups or campaign interests or are there useful forums that engage more independently that are worth watching? Thanks for the above to everyone - really interesting comments. Cheers Beth

Thanks to all, this has been an interesting exchange. Jon, Could you clarify your last point in your most recent comment? If the Solomon Islands have typically had a high turnover of incumbents in the past, why is it strange that the media is reporting a low turnover rate this time around? Seems like it would be quite newsworthy and possibly an interesting change in political dynamics (particularly, as you say, low incumbency turnover is often the norm elsewhere). Regards, Stephen

This is a very well-written piece highlighting an issue of global significance. It is heartening that important data is being collected to bring to attention to, and reduce the number of deaths due to drowning.

This poses a unique problem for Timor. Development does not just include education and health, but an array of equally important issues. Environmental sustainability is often overlooked. Each nation, indeed each community, experiences its own distinctive concerns and as such, development projects need to have extensive local knowledge, support and expertise. Palms aims to ensure we provide skilled and experienced volunteers across a variety of areas, including environmental sustainability and agriculture.

Spot on Paul! The 'winds of change' of change stuff back in 2006 also had some weird religious links with the moral majority crowd. Yet the 'beguiling narratives' you mention also surely convey or reflect a potentially explosive mismatch between urban (& urban youth) expectations about new governments and the inarticulate results of the rural voting patterns, which exert the predominant influence over the composition of parliaments. The trouble is that changing winds tend to bring new cohorts of politicians to office that very much resemble their predecessors (or at least do so when they operate as a collectivity on the floor of parliament), rather than bringing to bear some generational change that might alter established patterns of governance. Its strange to hear various media outlets reporting a low incumbent turnover rate as big news because, though that may be unusual for Solomon Islands (excepting 1993 when Mamaloni opened the purse strings), the proportion of MPs who lose their seats tend to be much lower in the industrialised or richer countries or even to the east in countries like Samoa. Cheers, Jon

Well done Femili PNG, the hardworking staff at CMC, Lae, and Stephen. It is such a tremendous task you all are doing considering the enormity of challenge and how prevalent domestic violence is in Lae and PNG. Well done.

Thank you Paul, that is a very interesting comment. I was intrigued to see how often the word 'change' appeared on people's campaign posters (in the Honiara and small set of rural constituencies I visited this time round). It's also interesting that, as you note, it also appears to be becoming a very good election for incumbents (a product I guess of relatively high GDP growth since the last election, plus increased RCDF money, and a last minute grant MPs awarded to themselves adding up to more money in politics, and - in particular - available to incumbents, although this is just a guess). And thank you - that is a very interesting comment on the role of Facebook. Thanks again Terence

Thanks tufala for this interesting exchange. I'd maintain that the notion of "beguiling narratives" applies as much to our own Solomon elite and youth as to expats (...and both areas would be a rich basis for anthropological work). A key element of these narratives is the recurrent trope of national renewal manifested by "new blood" and "new leaders". As social media has spread, the rhetoric and discourse employing this trope has been easier to observe, but it has been in strong evidence at least as long as the end of the tensions. In 2006, the "Winds of Change" campaign was the most visible instance of this. It has been particularly evident this time around in online discussions, during both the leadup to the election and the letdown periods. The former during the buildup and campaign period, and the latter in the past 48 hrs as the news of incumbents prevailing, keeps rolling in. Facebook has permitted direct observation of people bemoaning (in a public forum) the behaviour of the general voting population in violating the expectation of mass change. In the past this might have formed a part of the private lament of [ostensibly cheated] candidates seeking to explain their losses. The 2006 riots were I believe enabled by the wide variance between on the one hand, the public expectation of a national revival a' la Winds of Change, and on the other hand the perception of continued politics-as-usual when Rini was elected PM. Although it is hard to compare 2006 to now, the online atmosphere today does seem to reflect more nuance and reflection than previously on display. The tempering of these narratives is important for stability during the post-election period, and for workable political settlements in the immediate aftermath, but this is a difficult call when such grand and -evidently- unattainable narratives are an important element of political mobilisation for many reformist candidates and groups.

Hi Jon, Thanks for the clarification. You wrote: "The phase [Devil's Night] is a euphemism for the short-termism of rural constituents." I disagree with this: I think the phrase simply refers to vote buying in the immediate lead up to (and especially the night before) elections. Although I do agree that voter preferences for localised and/or personalised gain are something that are discussed (and at the elite level often lamented) by Solomon Islanders when they analyse their politics. Beyond that, as I said in my earlier comment, I agree with you that villager's choices make sense given the circumstances they vote in. I also agree with you that most major candidates, be they ostensible reformers or not, appear to engage in vote buying & patronage politics (there is also a logic to this, as I noted in my earlier post). As for whether expatriates are beguiled by the claims of overseas educated candidates or not, this isn't something I know much about, or am interested in -- not my subject area, although I've always thought an ethnographic study of expat life in Honiara would make for good anthropology. In my case, as you know, my claims about electoral politics are based on results data, survey data and case studies of Solomons constituencies. Thanks for the comments. Terence

Hi Terence, You are missing my main initial point. This was to suggest some greater critical scrutiny of Honiara elites complaints about 'devil's night' (last minute vote-buying before a general election), not to question when exactly vote-buying occurs. Articulate, reformist Western-centric or church-going candidates often raise these objections against victors who dabble in money politics, but when you scratch the surface the difference in campaign styles at least of the victors is often not that great. Losers of course almost invariably complain that they were outwitted by cheating. English-Speaking and overseas educated candidates know that expatriates will often be convinced by their claims because so many expect to find corruption pretty much everywhere in Melanesia.

The PM and cabinet in the Solomons has and will remain the tip of the iceberg. The network of coalitions, deals, personalities and forces supporting this visible tip will remain as important as ever in the aftermath of today's election. In this context the new law on parties and the recent judgement "clarifying" it will not be determinative but rather form a further structuring influence on what the 'tip of the iceberg' looks like and how it is supported. Ironically, the strongest evidence of cooperation amongst candidates (on campaigning activities, platform presentation, political strategy, transport of voters, even pooling of shipping resources and support of spoiler candidates) appears to be amongst the many [formally] independent candidates rather than the ostensible party members. The enthusiasm of many candidates in forming parties seems related to their attractiveness as a ready avenue for entry in politics, rather than an organising element for continuing in politics. A real problem in this context is that the already fraught process of PM election will be put under additional pressure by the dictates of the new law and that this pressure will draw in the judiciary as Jon surmises. A protracted standoff after today, heightened uncertainty about aspects of legality and the weight of pent up expectations of near term payoffs by political operators poses the risk of instability over the Christmas period.

hi Jon, thanks for your comment. Two points of agreement and one of disagreement I agree: last minute vote buying is not a Solomons only phenomenon (indeed I say so in the second paragraph). I disagree: the term devil's night is only restricted to the night before the election; it isn't used for voters seeking personal benefit more broadly. And I agree: villagers voting for personal or localised benefits is completely logical given the state of the state in Solomons. cheers Terence