SIAF A SUCCESS

Australian Army soldiers from the 7th Brigade board a Royal Australian Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heading to the Solomon Islands. *** Local Caption *** Australia is proud to support Solomon Islands in the conduct of its Joint Elections on 17 April 2024. The 2024 elections are historic for Solomon Islands as this is the first time National, Provincial and Honiara City Council elections will occur on the same day. Australia has provided AU$25 million to assist in logistics, voter registration, training for electoral officials and voter awareness initiatives. This builds on our longstanding support to the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission (SIEC) to strengthen the electoral cycle, improve election administration and boost women’s participation in the political process. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is supporting the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) to deliver safe and secure elections, working alongside partners from Fiji and Papua New Guinea, as Australia has done since the Solomons’ International Assistance Force (SIAF) first deployed in 2021. At the invitation of the Solomon Islands Government, Australia will send observers to monitor the elections, and deploy additional AFP personnel under SIAF to support the RSIPF. Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel will also deploy to support the SIEC and the RSIPF to deliver a safe and secure election by providing logistics and other enabling support, alongside the New Zealand Defence Force.