Fiji, May 15 -- Former Solomon Islands opposition leader Matthew Wale has been elected the new Prime Minister of Solomon Islands after securing victory in a parliamentary vote on Friday.

Wale defeated former Foreign Minister Peter Shanel Agovaka by 26 votes to 22 in a secret ballot held in Parliament, following the removal of former Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele in a no-confidence vote last week.

Wale, leader of the Solomon Islands Democratic Party and MP for Aoke/Langa Langa, first entered Parliament in a 2008 by-election and has since retained his seat in the 2010, 2014, 2019 and 2024 national elections.

A long-serving opposition figure, Wale has been a vocal critic of the Solomon Islands' 2022 security pact with China. While he pre...