Polling day in Solomon Islands

By Fredrick Kusu

The 2024 joint election kicks off in Solomon Islands.

Voters are now heading to polling stations to cast their ballots.

Polling opens at 7am and will close at 4pm in the evening.

More than a million ballot papers are distributed to each polling station for the joint election.

Speaking to officially open all polling stations this morning, Electoral Commissioner Teasi Sanga urges voters to turn up to cast their votes.

“Our votes will decide our country’s future.”

For the first time voters are given two ballot papers, one for parliamentary members and one for their provincial or Honiara City Council representatives.

Voters in Western and Choiseul provinces will only vote for their parliamentary representatives as their provincial assemblies will dissolve in 2028.

In today’s polling voters are casting their ballots for 50 parliamentary candidates and 143 provincial and Honiara City Council representatives excluding wards in Western and Choiseul provinces.

A total of 6,780 polling officials have been deployed across the country to administer the election.

This includes 5,530 polling officers, 500 Constituency Counting Officials, 695 Provincial Ward Counting teams, and 55 Ward Counting teams for the Honiara City Council elections.

ENDS///