since independence

Solomons’ first poll since independence

Jolomon Islanders have been ireparing for a general election o be held on August 6, three nonths after the dissolution of arliament.

Three political parties will ontest the poll and there are kely to be a good number of idependent candidates.

Four prominent politicians ave been declared leaders, r ith present Prime Minister eter Kenilorea, who until re ently did not believe in party olitics, heading the Solomon •lands United Party.

The man who led Solomon ilands into self-government on inuary 1, 1976, the former hief Minister Solomon lamaloni, and veteran poli cian David Kausimae, are the lint leaders of the People’s lliance Party, and the leader the opposition in the pre ous house, Bartholomew lufa’alu, leads the National emocratic Party (NADEPA).

Mr Mamaloni and Mr ausimae late last year formed coalition of their parties, spectively the People’s Pro essive Party (PPP) and the ural Alliance Party.

Mr Kausimae is the longest rving Solomon Islands peli can, having entered the field the 19605, while Mr [amaloni is making a come ick to politics after his resig ition from parliament in >77. He resigned after he had iled to win re-election as lief minister in 1976.

The coming election is the

first since independence in July 1978, and has attracted the biggest ever number of candi dates. There are more than 30 public servants among them.

It is hard to predict the outcome of the voting because Solomon Islanders are not yet used to party politics, and each of the three parties has had its problems.

The People’s Alliance Party, for example, had only one member in the former parlia ment, David Kausimae. This could prove a disadvantage.

But on the other hand Mr Kausimae won wide public support for his action opposing and refusing to accept the controversial tax-free $4OOO terminal grant made to MPs at the time parliament was dis solved. Members of NADEPA and the United Party (the Cabinet) took their $4OOO hap pily.

The terminal grant became a big national issue, and a demonstration of protest was called. Although not many took part (public servants stayed away because they had allegedly been threatened with the sack and a $lOO fine if they took part) the issue certainly damaged the United and National Democratic parties.

This was despite the fact that it was basically the independents, who held a majority in the old parliament, who pushed for the grant.

NADEPA has also still to recover from the downfall of the Honiara Town Council, on which it had held a majority.

The 12-seat council had its mandate to operate withdrawn by Minister for Home Affairs Dr Francis Kikolo when he found its financial affairs in a mess.

Dr Kikolo claimed that the council was in deficit to the tune of $l5 000, and that it had been functioning poorly for some time in both its adminis trative and financial work.

NADEPA was also under fire for a terminal grant it had voted to councillors a week before the MPs’ own terminal grant was announced.

NADEPA’s Mr Ulufa’alu was chairman of the council’s finance committee which auth orised the terminal grant for the councillors. He was also chairman of a working party set up by parliament after it had rejected the recommendations of a commission on MPs conditions of service set up in 1979. It was this working party which recommended that L h ® 3 n B former MPs get their S4OOO terminal grant.

Realisation of Mr Ulufa alu s role in the two terminal grant affairs has damaged the political stocks of his

Nadepa.

One former supporter of NADEPA has said: ‘The fact

that its members took two terminal grants from public funds is enough for me to withdraw my backing from nadepa; Mr Ulufa’alu founded the Solomon Islands General Workers’ Union. NADEPA and the union support each other financially and morally.

The United Party is wooing the churches for support. On the Sunday it launched its manifesto a service was held in Honiara’s St Barnabas Anglican Church. The fact that the service had strong political overtones did not go down well with the congre gation, and the priest who had allowed the service to be held got a good telling-off from the crowd. The Anglican Church is the largest in Solomon Islands.

Meanwhile, it has been al leged that the congregation at Prime Minister Peter Kenilorea’s church, the South Seas Evangelical Church in Honiara, have been praying for his return as prime minister.

Kenilorea - parties are in

Mamaloni — new bid to lead