Camps Claim to Have Numbers

As lobbying continue to escalate, all the major camps now claim that they have the numbers needed to form the new government.

Mathew Wale of the Solomon Islands Democratic Party, currently 'camping' at the Heritage Park Hotel, say that they have at least 30 members in their camp, although some are yet to arrive. Mr Wale says that an elimination process will soon take place to choose their candidate for Prime Minister.

Dickson Ha'amori, a newly elected MP and leader of the Direct Democratic Party (DPP), says that they are confident that they will form the next government. "In fact what is happening now are just people with personal ambitions trying to be prime minister, so we are keen to get this over and done with," Mr Ha'amori said. A coalition which includes the DPP are currently staying at the Pacific Casino Hotel, they are expected to announce their candidate for the Prime Minister's position later today.

Meanwhile, Attorney general Gabriel Suri says there is no law to stop the forming of new political parties after the election and to control newly elected members from moving between the different political camps in trying to form a new government.

He says a bill which the C-NURA government took to parliament to administer and register the formation of political parties, and to control the mobility of MPs in the government forming period was defeated.

Mr Suri says the situation which the country has lived with since independence remains and political parties will continue to operate in absence of regulation.

The attorney general gave this clarification in light of the emergence of a new political party, the Independent Democratic Party which had not announced its existence before the election.