Negotiations on forming a coalition government are set to get underway in the Solomon Islands. This comes after last week's general election delivered no clear winner and the incumbent prime minister's ruling party failed to secure an outright majority.
The latest election results released on Wednesday show the ruling party led by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who has deepened his country's relations with China, won 15 out of 50 seats in the election.
The major opposition camps, which oppose Sogavare's pro-China policy, won a total of 20 seats, with independent and micro parties holding 15 seats.
Negotiations are now expected to begin on forming a coalition government.
In 2019, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. The Pacific nation of Nauru followed suit in January this year.
The election results are being carefully monitored by China, Japan and western nations including the United States and Australia in light of the impact the results could have on regional security.