Driving down Solomon Islands' main road in the capital city Honiara is a test in patience and skill.

The road is so littered with potholes, it's like playing a game of chess on wheels.

It has become folk law in the capital, so much so there's a mantra the police follow to spot people breaking the law: "We can tell a drunk-driver from a mile away … they just drive straight".

Last year, the dichotomy of this situation became almost laughable.

As Honiara's residents crawled along at a snail's pace on the road, weaving in and out of the potholes, on the side of the road a huge, wonderful structure was being built.

The $120 million national stadium complex, built and paid for by China for last year's Pacific Games, sticks out like a peacock in a paddock.

For many, it symbolised the problem with Manasseh Sogavare, the Solomon Islands' now former prime minister.

And last night, his reign over the Pacific Island nation officially ended.

After switching the country's diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China in 2019, Mr Sogavare led Solomon Islands in an entirely new direction.

He signed a security pact with the country and was seen as China's man in the Pacific, openly embracing the Chinese Communist Party's governing style — even going as far as saying it felt like "home" when visiting China.

He consistently amplified combative stoushes with Western democracies, such as Australia and the United States — whether they were real or not — and last week even made unsubstantiated claims of influence by the US in the Solomon Islands election.

Heading into this month's national election, for many Solomon Islanders, it seems, all this was an unnecessary distraction.

They were dealing with other issues: the terrible roads, high rates of unemployment, a health system on its knees, access to education and the constant dark clouds of corruption.

Mr Sogavare's party lost more than half of its 37 seats at the April 17 election.

And last night he resigned.

Citing "geopolitics at play", Mr Sogavare said he had been "vilified in the media" and "accused of many things" — a veiled reference to a report from the US-funded Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project about his alleged real estate holdings. 

Insiders suggest Mr Sogavare, who was not considered a popular leader in Solomon Islands, was pushed out by his party.

However, he rejected that notion saying he "felt great" handing over to a "very competent captain".

But with Mr Sogavare now gone, what does it mean for Solomon Islands and the region?

Turning down the heat?

China has policing agreements with Vanuatu and Kiribati, and earlier this year Chinese officials were in talks with Papua New Guinea.

In Fiji, a police deal was being reviewed and reinstated, but not before its prime minister removed Chinese police from the country.

Yet, the security agreement signed by Solomon Islands is easily the most far-reaching in the region, sparking fears — that have constantly been rejected by Mr Sogavare — of China building a military base in the country. 

But experts say, again, this is largely just noise for Solomon Islanders.

Director of the Lowy Institute Pacific Islands Program, Meg Keen, said Mr Sogavare's resignation — and performance at the election — was a rejection of the direction he was taking the country.

"But it wasn't about the fact he was aligning the country with China," she said.

"It was a rejection of the development benefits, or lack of them, that were flowing to the people.

"This election was fought on very local issues, like healthcare and education, and the voting shows Solomon Islanders felt that the government weren't delivering."

Mr Sogavare's replacement as leader of his party, Jeremiah Manele, was foreign minister in his government and was a central figure in the country's switch to China.

On Monday night, he said if he was elected as prime minister, he would have the "same foreign policy basis — friends to all and enemies to none".

However, in a statement that will no doubt be welcomed by Canberra, Dr Keen said there was "no question" he'd be "less fiery as Sogavare".

"He's indicated the 'look north' policy will continue if he's elected," she said, referring to Mr Sogavare's policy of deepening security and economic ties with China.

"But he's been a foreign diplomat in Western countries … and the way in which he implements his policy will be different, it will be a much more measured policy."

Tess Newton Cain, Project Lead for the Pacific Hub at the Griffith Asia Institute, agreed.

"I don't think the temperature will be as high with Manele," she said.

"This is assuming Manele will be the prime minister, and we shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves.

"But if he is [elected] there will be an attempt to maintain a degree of continuity, whilst also recognising there are concerns in the Solomon Islands community about how their relationships with various partners are being used, developed or even manipulated."

A search for simple answers:

On Thursday Solomon Islanders will know who their new government, and prime minister, is after no party gained enough seats to win the election.

In Solomon Islands, 26 MPs are needed to form a government.

Mr Sogavare's party, the OUR Party, now led by Mr Manele claims to have as many as 28 — though those numbers have not been confirmed.

The country's opposition group, led by Matthew Wale and the son of the country's first prime minister, Peter Kenilorea Jr, claims to have 20 MPs.

There were 10 independent MPs elected.

But history suggests votes — and allegiances — could swing at the last minute.

Either way, the residents of Solomon Islands navigating the potholes in the capital this afternoon — or waiting for treatment at the derelict national hospital — will be hoping for some answers come Thursday.

Just simple answers, insulated from the complexity of geopolitics, that will help make their lives a little better.

Original Story By | Nick Sas