Two political parties are seeking to form the next government as lobbying intensifies.

The Solomon Islands Democratic Party (SIDP) and the Solomon Islands Kadere Party (SIKP) both have eight elected representatives.

Both parties will need the support of at least eighteen MPs to form the next government.

Independent MPs make up the majority of elected MPs, although, just prior to the elections, several independent candidates openly declared their affiliation to SIKP, with a good number of them winning their seat.

Independent MPs hold the balance of power with 21 of the 50 seats. Should such an alliance or affiliation towards SIKP hold they would have the numbers necessary to form the next government. They need at least three additional MPs, on top of those Independents MPs that declared their affiliation to SIKP, to have a comfortable lead going into the upcoming election of the Prime Minister.

SIDP, with Mathew Wale as the parliamentary whip leader, may look to some of the newly elected MPs and the minority parties to form government. The magical twenty six needed to form government is possible, but it may mean trading some key positions for support.

All the minority parties combined make up thirteen MPs, pulling in four independents would get them over the line. That is possible, but may require some serious realignment in terms of their preferred candidate for Prime Minister and several key ministerial portfolios.

Another possible scenario would be an alliance of all the minority parties, with the support of Independent MPs – thirteen to be exact. That would mean rallying around a prime ministerial candidate that could pull support. The former Prime Minister Rick Houenipwela is an option, or perhaps Peter Kenilorea Jr, who is popular amongst the general populace. He may represent the change people want, and may be able to garner support from Independents with such a message.

Once a coalition is formed, the governor general sets a date for the MPs to elect a Prime Minister by secret ballot.