The Solomon Islands Electoral Commission has confirmed that a record 508 candidates will contest the upcoming National General Elections on 4th August 2010.
The 508 candidates will be vying for the 50 seats in the country's National Parliament, with a good majority being former Members of Parliament themselves.The highest contested seat is that of Central Honiara with 23 candidates, while the lowest being Central Guadalcanal with only 2 candidates.
This year's election also sees 18 women candidates contesting, a few contesting under the newly established Women's Party banner.
Also, a good number of prominent Honiara businessmen are putting their hands up for political leadership - the two front runners being Bodo Detke, owner of ITA Hardware, who is in the running for the North West Guadalcanal seat and Namson Tran, the owner of Honiara Casino, who will be contesting the West Honiara seat.
This year's election also sees the highest number of political parties contesting as a political bloc. Former Members of Parliament are at the helm of these parties, with many tipped to contest for the Prime Minister's post.
OUR Party, with former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare as Leader, is seen as standing the strongest chance in winning a good number of seats. It has carried out a month long campaign visiting all the nine Provinces in Solomon Islands.
Whatever the case, the next government will most likely be a coalition, a very strong feature of Solomon Islands politics and one that will not go away anytime soon.
For now Solomon Islanders are praying for a credible government, one that has the respect of the international community and the interest of the nation at heart.
Final candidate list for each of the 50 constituencies for the National General Election