General elections were held in Tonga on 14 and 15 February 1990 to elect members of the

Legislative Assembly of Tonga The Legislative Assembly of Tonga ( to, Fale Alea ʻo Tonga) is the unicameral legislature of Tonga. The assembly has 26 members in which 17 members elected by majority of the people for a 5-year term in multi-seat constituencies via the singl ...

. Nine nobles and nine people's representatives were elected. Seven of the latter favoured democratic reform. Voter turnout was 65.4%.

Background

The

1987 Tongan general election General elections were held in Tonga on 18 and 19 February 1987 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga. Nine nobles and nine people's representatives were elected. Five of the latter favoured democratic reform. Results Six of the ...

saw the election of

Laki Niu Laki Niu is a Tongan judge and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga. He was the first Tongan to sit on the Supreme Court of Tonga in over a hundred years. Niu is a lawyer and was educated at the University of Auckland in New Zealand ...

and

ʻAkilisi Pōhiva Samiuela ʻAkilisi Pōhiva (7 April 1941 – 12 September 2019) was a Tongan pro-democracy activist and politician. Pohiva, the leader of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands (DPFI), served as the Prime Minister of Tonga from 2014 to h ...

and an increased focus on accountability for the government, particularly in the areas of parliamentary allowances, passport sales, and financial management. After a series of evasive Ministerial answers and Ministers using international travel to avoid being questioned entirely, in September 1989 all the elected People's Representatives walked out, returning only when they would have forfeited their seats. On their return, they introduced motions calling for a reduction in the number of Noble Representatives and an increase in the number of People's Representatives. The first was voted down, and the second subsequently withdrawn.

Campaign

Parliament was closed on 29 October 1989. During December and January conservatives led by Lord Fusituʻa attempted to enlist the church to back a "church and state" campaign and formed a ''de facto'' political party. In January 1990 King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV intervened in the election, giving an interview to '' Matangi Tonga'' in which he complained about the walkout and said that change could become uncontrollable and result in a Coup d'état. The ''

Times of Tonga The Times of Tonga (''Taimi o Tonga'') was a biweekly newspaper in Tonga. First published in April 1989, it was published for 30 years by editor and publisher Kalafi Moala and was a frequent target of the Tongan government. Moala sold the business ...

'' reported that claims that reformers were communists attempting to overthrow the government was a campaign of fear. Two days before the election an attempt was made to nullify the candidacies of two reformist candidates on the grounds of debt; the debts were immediately paid and they remained on the ballot.

Results

People's seats

References

{{Tongan elections Tonga 1990 in Tonga Elections in Tonga May 1990 events in Oceania