Solomon Islands constitutional reform seeks to restrict no confidence motions - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

A constitutional expert says newly proposed reforms in Solomon Islands could help put an end to cycles of governments being toppled by motions of no confidence.

Solomon Islands has seen six motions of no confidence in the past ten years, including one in May that led to the current prime minister, Matthew Wale, being elected after Jeremiah Manele was removed from office.

This week the government said it was proposing constitutional amendments that would reduce cycles of political instability by ensuring that the use of motions of no confidence was "responsible".

The reforms still need to be passed by parliament and Jon Frankel, a professor of comparative politics at Victoria University of Wellington, says the government has its work cut out for it.

"These anti-defection provisions can work particularly if you've got strong political parties," he said. "But the problem is in Solomon Islands the parties are incredibly weak … few voters on the ground would know which parties the politicians are associated with."