Early results are starting to flow in Solomon Islands in the wake of Wednesday's elections, with prominent China critic, ousted Malaita premier Daniel Suidani, regaining his provincial seat.
Mr Suidani was ousted as premier in a no-confidence vote last year after banning Chinese companies from operating in Malaita, the most heavily populated province in Solomon Islands.
He told the ABC that he would stand to become premier once again when the position is contested in coming months.
"Seeing that I haven't finished my work as premier, [I will] still contest the premiership this year in Malaita," he said.
He also said that if he was successful he'd move to reinstate the Auki Communique and block Chinese companies from the province, saying that he "wanted to give a little bit of space to Malaitans who can do business here".
The man who replaced Mr Suidani as premier, Martin Fini, has also been bundled out of Malaita's local parliament after losing his seat.
But all eyes are now on national election results which are starting to trickle in.
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who has drawn Solomon Islands much closer to China, is hoping to become the first incumbent to be re-elected prime minister after serving a full term in office.
Two MPs aligned with Mr Sogavare's OUR party held on to their seats in early counting.
Mr Sogavare has campaigned hard on political stability under his government, as well as his decision to strike much stronger ties with Beijing, saying it will bring significant development benefits to the country while winning Solomon Islands international attention and respect.
Most observers expect that his OUR Party will return with the largest bloc of candidates in the election, but Mr Sogavare's opponents say his support has been sapped by growing frustration with inadequate services and unemployment throughout the country.
Mr Sogavare will also have to win his own constituency of East Choiseul before he can begin building a political coalition to try and regain office.
Locals say he has faced a spirited challenge from David Qurusu, the son of a former MP in Choiseul.
The seat is likely to be one of the first declared by the Solomon Islands Election Commission, with some observers suggesting a result could be announced on Friday evening or Saturday morning.
'Feels good to vote'
The former prime minister Gordon Darcy Lilo appears heavily favoured to take the seat of central Honiara, and could emerge as a potential challenger to Mr Sogavare if both men are successful.
Mr Sogavare's decision to reorient Solomon Islands' foreign policy towards China has caught the attention of many voters, although opinions towards Beijing in the broader community remain split.
And many voters in both the capital Honiara and the province of Malaita told the ABC that they were much more preoccupied with issues like substandard health, education and sanitation services throughout Solomon Islands.
Wednesday's election ran smoothly and effectively with no significant disruptions or outbreaks of unrest, although some queues in the morning were very long, with voters waiting hours to vote.
One voter, Eugene, told the ABC that she relished her chance to have her say.
"It feels good to vote now," she said. "We need to change some decisions, and some policies that need to be changed."
The CEO of the Solomon Islands Election Commission Jasper Highwood Anisi told journalists that the day had been a success, despite the significant logistical challenges.
"All voting progressed as planned across the country," he said.
However some Solomon Islanders were unable to cast their vote with overcrowded vessels meaning they could not return to their home villages, where they were registered to vote.
One voter told the ABC that he'd waited for hours to get on a boat to return to his home province, but hadn't been successful.
"If I'm not going to go on a boat I'm not going to vote," he said
"They should provide (more boats) for us because we are citizens of this country we have a right to vote."
Beijing 'bankrolling' politicians
Solomon Islanders now face a potentially lengthy wait until a new government is formed, with vote counting expected to continue for one to two weeks, with protracted negotiations to form a governing coalition expected to go on for even longer.
Several countries which have been jostling for influence in Solomon Islands — particularly Australia and China — will be watching the event closely.
Australian officials remain worried about the contentious security pact which Mr Sogavare signed with China, and which has allowed Chinese police trainers to operate in Solomon Islands.
Former Australian national security official Mike Hughes, who now works for the advisory firm Protegas, told the ABC that Beijing was clearly intent on bedding down its security presence in Solomon Islands.
"What's at the heart of everything in the region at the moment is that China is seeking to create its own regional order, centred on Beijing," he said.
"What that means is having states like Solomon Islands, and influential elites like Mr Sogavare, who will defer to China's interests in everything they do."
Mr Hughes also acknowledged there were anxieties in Canberra about what steps the prime minister might take in order to stay in power.
"We know from how China behaves across the world that they have no qualms bankrolling people with authoritarian ambitions. It raises all sorts of questions over how far Sogavare is wiling to go, and what he'd be willing to do to stay in power," he said.
Rodney Kingmele from Transparency Solomon Islands told the ABC that he did not think that Solomon Islands was on an "authoritarian" path because there were too many formal and informal checks on power.
But he said that Mr Sogavare had used his numbers in the last parliament to push through deeply contentious measures — including delaying elections until this year — and he was still worried that democratic norms and freedoms could be eroded if Mr Sogavare won an overwhelming victory.
"My sense is that OUR Party [and] the ruling government if they return the same numbers or maybe more, that would be when alarm bells might start ringing" he said.
"They might continue where they left off, and that might be a slippery slope down to somewhere the country doesn't want to be."
"'[But] if there's a narrow majority it might put a handbrake on this."
