No-confidence motion against Solomon Islands prime minister withdrawn

A no-confidence motion against Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale has been withdrawn, ending an immediate parliamentary challenge that had been scheduled for debate on Monday.

Manasseh Maelanga, who filed the motion a week earlier, announced on Sunday afternoon that he would withdraw it. He also signed the required documents and submitted them to Parliament, according to SBM Online.

“I have not taken this decision lightly, the motion was never about professional ambition, personal interest or creating division in our country, it was not a decision I took in isolation,” Maelanga said.

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I have not taken this decision lightly, the motion was never about professional ambition, personal interest or creating division in our country, it was not a decision I took in isolation.

Wale thanked Maelanga for withdrawing the motion. The prime minister said he had been concerned since learning about it while he was in Palau for the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, where he said public anger over how leaders behave in such situations had been rising. “I welcome the spirit with which he [Maelanga] has acted...and he informed me on Friday afternoon that this is what he would do over the weekend,” Wale said.

The motion had caught Wale by surprise during his first months in office. He left Palau the following day to return home and address the political crisis. After his return, three Cabinet ministers resigned. Wale then dismissed Finance Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo, who belongs to the same political party as Maelanga. Lilo told RNZ Pacific he had played no role in the motion.

Local media reported over the weekend that two more opposition MPs had crossed the floor to join the government. That would give the government 31 seats in the 50-seat Parliament.

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I welcome the spirit with which he [Maelanga] has acted...and he informed me on Friday afternoon that this is what he would do over the weekend.