Jeremiah Manele elected as Solomon Islands' new PM

HONIARA -- Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele was elected as the Solomon Islands' new prime minister by members of parliament on Thursday, Governor General of the Solomon Islands David Vunagi announced.

Manele defeated opposition leader Matthew Wale in a 31-to-18 vote in the newly elected 50-seat parliament, Vunagi said following a secret ballot on Thursday morning.

One member of parliament did not participate in the vote because she could not arrive in Honiara in time due to a long distance to the capital, a source from the governing Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party told Xinhua.

Manele will take over the office from Manasseh Sogavare, who announced on Monday his withdrawal from running for a new term.

"I will discharge my duties diligently and with integrity. I will at all times put the interests of our people and country above all other interests," Manele told journalists outside parliament.

He also appealed for calm, noting the Solomon Islands has been periodically rocked by "violence and destruction" after elections.

"Past prime minister elections have been met by acts of violence and destruction. Our economies and livelihoods have suffered because of this violence," Manele said.

"However, today we show the world that we are better than that. We must respect and uphold the democratic process for electing our prime minister," he said.

Manele said the Government for National Unity and Transformation is working on its policies and a 100-day program which will be announced soon.

"Our immediate task now is to appoint Cabinet and will do that in the next few days," Manele said.