Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has doubled down on his decision not to convene Parliament as he hangs on to power leading a minority government, following mass defections from his Government of National Unity and Transformation (GNUT).
Last week, 19 government MPs — more than half of them cabinet ministers — handed in their resignations, citing trust issues with Manele’s leadership.
Those who have jumped ship have joined the opposition group, which now claims to have 28 MPs on its side. This means Manele has been left with just 22 MPs in his camp.
- READ MORE: Solomons PM refuses to convene parliament amid political crisis
- Other Solomon Islands reports
“I will call our Parliament as and when it is appropriate,” Manele told local reporters during a news conference on Sunday.
He said “the assumption” that his government does not have the numbers “is political and not constitutional”.
“Government decisions are not made based on speculation, on pressure, but on lawful processes and the national interest,” he said.
Manele also downplayed the move by the opposition and “those outside Parliament” petitioning the country’s Governor-General to convene Parliament and to consider a motion of no confidence against him.
‘A matter of political choice’
He branded the decision of those MPs who resigned from his coalition as “a matter of personal and political choice”.
“Your government remains in office under the Constitution and continues to discharge its full responsibilities,” he said.
“What we are witnessing is not a constitutional crisis. It is a normal democratic process provided for under our Constitution; leadership may change within certain portfolios, but the machinery of government does not falter.”
Public services continue, national operations remain stable and uninterrupted, he added.
Manele has been in power less than two years and has already faced two leadership challenges.
He said the confidence in a Prime Minister is tested and determined only through a motion of no confidence on the floor of Parliament.
“This means that unless and until Parliament meets and decides on such a motion, the elected prime minister remains duly in office. I reiterate that Parliament will be convened in accordance with the Constitution and the proper process will take its course.”
New ministers appointed
Addressing concerns about MPs resigning from parliamentary standing committees, Manele said “these committees report to Parliament, not to the prime minister or the executive”.
Manele has also swiftly appointed new ministers to his government, including Manasseh Sogavare as his new deputy.
Sogavare was one of four ministers sworn in last Wednesday and has been handed the National Planning and Development portfolios.
Sogavare, who previously served as prime minister four times, was one of 11 ministers who resigned from government last April but failed to topple Manele.
Meanwhile, Peter Kenilorea Jnr, one of the 28 MPs in the opposition group, said Manele downplaying the situation was “truly disheartening”.
“So for me it’s clear, when a situation arises, like the mass resignation of GNUT MPs and those MPs joining those in the opposition and independents with a [numerical] strength of 28 it shows that the PM has lost the support he needs to be PM,” he said in a social media post.
“[Manele] is now in the minority. The honourable thing to do is either resign or test his support/numbers on the floor of Parliament.”
Another key figure in Manele’s coalition, Peter Shanel Agovaka, who was the Foreign Minister, told RNZ Pacific he left GNUT because he could not “work with some of the ministers” who were “trying to push their own agendas”.
He also confirmed that he had been offered the leadership by the opposition group which would see him become the Prime Minister should there be a change in government.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
