2008 East Honiara by-election 2008 East Honiara by-election The East Honiara by-election, 2008 was a by-election for the East Honiara constituency in the National Parliament of Solomon Islands. East Honiara is by far the most heavily populated constituency in Solomon Islands, with an electorate of over 30,000. The election was precipitated by the arrest, conviction for fraud and jailing of sitting MP Charles Dausabea, who had held the seat since the 2006 general election. A total of twenty-six candidates stood in the by-election. Among them was a former MP, Alfred Sasako. The election was held on September 25, 2008, in thirty-nine polling stations. The
Honiara sharing in a ceremony called "manga'e", (performed by men) of the surplus harvest of fishing and garden crops. The dance is performed to highly rhythmic songs which are in the form of a "feature call and response, speech–song", including the short history of the island of Bellona. The Melanesia Arts and Crafts Festival was held for the first time in Honaria in 1998 when five Melanesian Countries participated. The present trend in dancing among the youth of the Islands and in Honiara also is freestyle dancing, which has become integral to the night life and entertainment scene. These dance bears