By EDDIE OSIFELO
CHOISEUL Province saw only one woman elected into the current Provincial Assembly.
Florence Vasaro made her way into the Assembly after winning the Babatana ward.
She is the only female MPA in the 16 male-dominated Assembly.
She received praises from a lot of women leaders in the country.
One of them is a respected woman from Choiseul and member of Solomon Islands National Council of Women, Ruth Liloqula.
Liloqula said Vasaro is a strong and outspoken woman in her community, who has a strong support from family and extended family.
She said Vasaro has only reached Secondary level of studies but a strong community leader.
“I met her when Transparency Solomon Islands went down to her village.
“I saw her people respected her when she talked in the public,” she said.
Liloqula said she has a lot of respect for her and glad she won the election.
Further to that, Liloqula, also Chief Executive Officer of TSI, said Vasaro will make a good MPA because she gets backup from her family, community and the church.
Furthermore, Liloqula said Vasaro’s winning election is a result the Lauru Land Conference of Tribal Community (LLCTC) push to see women take part in all aspects of leadership in the community, including politics and church.
She said as a result of this, LLCTC has increased the number of women in the executive.
LLCTC is a non-government organization founded in 1981 by Bishop Rev Leslie Boseto.
It belongs to the people of Choiseul Province – known locally as Lauru.
LLCTC is recognized both locally and internationally as a grassroots, ecumenical indigenous NGO.
Apart from Vasaro, Choiseul Province has also elected a first ever elected Premier from the minority Kiribati ethnicity, Tongoua Tabe.
Tabe represented Wagina ward, an island allocated and occupied predominantly by people of Kiribati-descent.
