Australia deploys police, Defence personnel to support Solomon Islands election

Geopolitics & Policy

18 April 2024

By: Liam Garman

Australia has helped the Solomon Islands conduct their historic national, provincial, and Honiara City Council elections with the deployment of election observers, police, and Defence personnel.

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It was the first time the three elections have been hosted on the same day (17 April).

Under the initiative, the Australian government supported the Solomon Islands with a $25 million package covering logistics assistance, voter registration, training for electoral officials, and voter awareness initiatives.

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The support package was delivered at the invitation of the Solomon Islands government.

The election support is the latest in Australia’s support for democracy in the Solomon Islands, with a longstanding relationship between the two nations to improve election administration and increase female participation.

Partners from Fiji and Papua New Guinea worked alongside the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to support the Royal Solomon Islands Police, while the New Zealand Defence Force also assisted with the provision of logistics and enabling support, the federal government confirmed.

Kate Thwaites MP, Bridget Archer MP, Senator Andrew McLachlan CSC, and Anne McEwen OAM, former senator for South Australia, were sent as Australian election observers.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles explained that Australia remained ready to support democracy in the Indo-Pacific.

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“Australia has a long history of supporting democracy in the Pacific and will continue to work with our regional partners to support prosperity and security based on our shared values. The ADF’s support to the Solomon Islands joint elections is a further demonstration of our strong partnership,” Marles explained.

The support is just the latest partnership between Australia and the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, having recently collaborated on the Pacific Games in 2023.

Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy outlined that Australia remains happy to support the needs of the Solomon Islands.

“Australia is pleased to be providing election logistics and security assistance to these important elections. Our support responds to Solomon Islands’ priorities and is a natural extension of our deep and longstanding bilateral relationship.”

Liam Garman

Editor – Defence and Security, Momentum Media

Liam began his career as a speech writer at New South Wales Parliament before working for world leading campaigns and research agencies in Sydney and Auckland. Throughout his career, Liam has managed and executed international media and communications campaigns spanning politics, business, industrial relations and infrastructure. He’s since shifted his attention to researching and writing extensively on geopolitics and defence. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney and a Masters in Strategy and Security with Excellence from UNSW Canberra, with a thesis on post-truth, postmodernism and disinformation operations.

Reach out to Liam via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.

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