Two blocs emerged to attempt to form a government, including the Grand Coalition, with Mathew Wale as their candidate for prime minister.

Sogavare established the DCC to form a government, and on 9 December parliament elected him to a third non-consecutive term as prime minister, defeating first-term MP Jeremiah Manele.

[1][4] In June 2017, the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands concluded operations in the country, the deployment of which was in response to ethnic violence that occurred from 1998 to 2003 and the resulting instability.

Disqualifications included holding dual citizenship, being executives or members of the Electoral Commission, having an undischarged bankruptcy, being imprisoned for more than six months, or being under a death sentence.

[10] Candidates running as members of a registered political party were not permitted to change their affiliation after the confirmation of their nomination; unless they withdrew and filed their candidacy again.

[12] The 2018 electoral act introduced pre-polling, which was open to polling staff and police officers that were to going to provide security for voting centres on election day.

To combat this practice, amendments in the 2018 electoral act implemented stricter penalties, including a SI$50,000 fine and a 15-year prison sentence.

Numerous candidates, such as former Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo, advocated for severing ties with Taiwan and establishing diplomatic relations with China due to the growing trade between the Solomon Islands and the latter.

Incumbent Prime Minister Rick Houenipwela pledged a review of ties with Taipei if his government remained in power, although he clarified it did not mean a switch was inevitable.

[34][35] In late March, the Island Sun reported that an unidentified party negotiated secretly with Chinese officials, promising to establish relations with Beijing in exchange for money.

[13] Shortly before the election, the Electoral Commission launched two apps that assist voters in finding their polling stations and where they could search for their identification number.

[42] Days before the election, allegations surfaced of candidates threatening voters if they did not vote for them, which Police Commissioner Matthew Varley condemned.

[43] On election day, polling stations were open from 7:00 to 17:00 (UTC+11),[44] although voters who were waiting in line before closing time but had not yet cast their ballots were allowed to vote.

While the election was mostly orderly and peaceful, observer delegations noted the presence of irregularities, with some voters' names missing from electoral lists at polling centres.

[11] As in the 2014 election, most incumbents won re-election; of the 48 who contested, 13 lost their seats, including former Prime Ministers Derek Sikua and Snyder Rini.

One of whom, Lanelle Tanangada, who won her seat in a 2018 by-election, narrowly defeated former Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo for a second time.

The Grand Coalition initially announced that Peter Kenilorea Jr. would be the bloc's candidate for prime minister but ended up nominating Matthew Wale.

[54] Wale filed a lawsuit challenging Sogavare's candidacy, claiming he was ineligible to stand for prime minister because he registered his party after the election, a breach of electoral law.

[63] Sogavare's return to the premiership sparked riots in Honiara due to public dissatisfaction over the prime minister's election and the lack of involvement citizens had with the government formation.

[67] That day, the new parliament elected former cabinet minister Patteson Oti, who had most recently served as high commissioner to Fiji, as speaker.