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Solomon Islands has warmly embraced China under mercurial Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, with the two nations inking a murky security pact in 2022.
A torrent of Chinese aid and investment has flowed into the country during Sogavare's five years at the helm, and the 69-year-old has vowed to further deepen these ties if re-elected on Wednesday.
"During these past five years, there have been so many things that China was involved in. It's really alarming at the moment," provincial powerbroker Daniel Suidani said in an exclusive interview.
Suidani, the former premier of the most populous island Malaita, said he was troubled by what he believed was Beijing's corrosive impact on democracy.
Fearful its money could one day come with strings attached, Suidani was one of the rare provincial leaders who refused to cash China's cheques.
Suidani accused the Chinese Communist Party -- or CCP -- of working behind the scenes to help keep pro-Beijing members in parliament.
"That is something that is very concerning: the influence of the CCP in this country," he told AFP after disembarking a crowded boat in Honiara's thronging port.
China has paid tens of millions of dollars into a discretionary development fund used by Solomon Islands' politicians, according to Australian research.
Critics have suggested this "constituency development fund" is in essence a slush fund used to curry favour with key politicians.
Sogavare has repeatedly denied China poses a threat to the country, and has warned Washington and Canberra to stop meddling in his affairs.
Suidani's provincial government was so concerned about China's sway, it blocked telco giant Huawei from building desperately needed cell phone towers on the island.
Asked about Suidani's comments on Monday, Beijing insisted it does not interfere in other countries' affairs.
"China has always pursued the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and supports the people of the Solomon Islands in independently selecting a development path that suits their own national conditions," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular press conference.
- 'Freedom and liberty' -
One of the most galvanising figures in Solomon Islands' politics, Suidani commands an enthusiastic base of supporters on Malaita, about a three-hour boat ride northeast of the capital.
He was abruptly ousted as Malaita's provincial leader in February 2023, defeated in a motion of no-confidence while he and his supporters were absent from parliament.
Suidani has accused Sogavare's government of orchestrating what he said was an underhanded manoeuvre to silence one of its most vocal critics.
Observers of Pacific politics believe Sogavare has demonstrated increasingly autocratic tendencies in his quest to stay in power.
"For the international community, I would like to say that we need your support," Suidani said.
"We want to share the same freedom and liberty that everyone else shares.
"But now we start to fear there is something holding over our heads," he added.
Solomon Islands is one of the least-developed nations in the world, and Sogavare firmly believes its path to prosperity lies with Beijing.
But his main rivals are deeply sceptical of his pact with China, and have signalled a willingness to re-establish ties with traditional security partners Australia and the United States.
"The 2024 election is going to be a very critical one for Solomon Islands," said Suidani.
- 'Rise up' -
The capital Honiara was abuzz with election campaigning on Monday morning, as parties carted hollering supporters into the city on an endless procession of packed flat-bed trucks.
The international scramble for influence was clear: giant "Radio Australia" billboards hung over the only route into town, while police cars slapped with "China Aid" stickers trundled past on potholed roads.
An entire page in the national newspaper was dedicated to praising China's support of a school hall renovation in an outlying village.
A boisterous rally for former prime minister Gordon Darcy Lilo was held on a muddy, waterlogged field on the city's outskirts.
Teacher Josep was among a crowd of hundreds noisily clamouring for a change of government.
"The economy is collapsing. I want the people of Honiara to rise up and reclaim our country," he told AFP, as supporters honked their agreement through conch shells and plastic horns.
At a different rally, transport worker Webber Aseri, who gave his age as "roughly 34", said the time was ripe for a new government.
"We need to raise up Solomon Islands," he told AFP, smiling through teeth stained red by chewing betel nut, a homegrown stimulant.
The vote will be held on April 17, although it could take weeks for the opaque coalition-building process to resolve who will be prime minister.
burs-je/jfx
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