Thousands head home for next week’s vote

With the joint elections just a few days away, thousands of voters are heading to the provinces to cast their ballots.

The joint elections for the National Parliament, Honiara City Council and most provinces take place on Wednesday 17 April.

Ship owners have been busy caring thousands of voters into the provinces both on regular schedules and on charters.

SBMOnline contacted four shipping companies and all confirmed heavy bookings since last month. One ship owner said he had to take extra trips to help move people to the provinces. 

The Solomon Islands Maritime Authority officials have been busy at the domestic wharves to ensure the boats keep to their loading capacity.

They have also issued each boat with a number limit on the passengers they should carry.

Another ship owner said he had turned down many requests for charters because they are already been engaged by other candidates. As of today, many candidates are still looking for boats to carry passengers to the provinces.

Obviously, Malaita has the biggest number of voters that still needed to be carried to their respective constituencies.

It is also observed that constituencies nearby Honiara, like those in Isabel, Central Province and certain parts of Guadalcanal are using outboard motor to move voters between the islands and Honiara.

One boat owner said he has been travelling to Isabel carrying passengers since the beginning of the month.

“We use boats though ships are available. This is because boats are more efficient and fast to move people,” he said.