General elections were held in

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

on 23 and 24 April 2008 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly. The nobles were elected on 23 April, and the nine people's representatives on 24 April. A total of 32,000 people turned out to vote, giving a turnout of 48%. 71 candidates had filed for the people's representatives' seats, among them eight women. All nine incumbents stood for reelection, with six retaining their seats. Most of the pro-democracy MPs were returned, despite several facing charges of

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...

over the 2006 Nuku'alofa riots. Reportedly, all nine elected MPs were pro-democracy activists. These elections were the last ones before democratic reforms expected to be implemented in 2010, which would change the seat balance as follows: 17 MPs would be popularly elected, nine MPs would be elected by the nobles and four MPs appointed by the king. Viliami Uasike Latu requested a recount in Vava'u, the constituency he contested, as he missed out on the second seat there by only 51 votes. The recount was conducted from 5 to 9 May at the Office of the Governor of Vava’u, and confirmed the original result.

Controversy

About two weeks before the election, it was announced that the Tonga Broadcasting Commission would henceforth censor candidates' political broadcasts, and that TBC reporters would be banned from reporting on political matters, allegedly because they lacked the necessary training for objective coverage. The decision was criticised by the

Pacific Islands News Association The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

's Minister of Revenue,

Peter Dunne Peter Francis Dunne (born 17 March 1954) is a retired New Zealand politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ōhāriu. He held the seat and its predecessors from 1984 to 2017—representing the Labour Party in Parliament from 1984 ...

, commented that it was "unfortunate". Tonga Review said that the decision was a restriction on

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

, and compared Tonga with

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, a comparison rejected by the TBC. Tongan MP Clive Edwards said that the TBC's decision was aimed at stifling criticism of the government in the lead-up to the election, and to hamper the re-election chances of pro-democracy MPs. Pesi Fonua, head of the

Tonga Media Council Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, said that the election "very much depends on how the candidates present themselves", and that censorship would "definitely have an impact".

Results

By constituency

People's Representatives

Nobles' representatives

Nine nobles were elected by the 29 eligible members of the nobility on 23 April. All 29 voters cast votes. There were no nominations, and no candidates. Tu'iha'angana, outgoing Speaker of the House, lost his seat in Ha'apai.

References

External links

"Tongans confused and undecided on eve of 2008 General Election"
Mary Lyn Fonue,

Matangi Tonga ''Matangi Tonga'' is an online newspaper providing Tongan news in both English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', a ...

, 23 April 2008
"Results, 2008 Tonga Parliamentary General Election"

, 25 April 2008
"Noble Fielakepa and Noble Ma'afu elected into Parliament"
''Tonga Review'', 23 April 2008 {{Tongan elections

General election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

Elections in Tonga April 2008 events in Oceania