Tongan general election, 2010
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Early general elections under a new electoral law 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 25 November 2010. They determined the composition of the 2010 Tongan Legislative Assembly. The early elections were announced by the new
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
George Tupou V George Tupou V ( Tongan: Siaosi Tupou, full name: Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Manumataongo Tukuʻaho Tupou; 4 May 194818 March 2012) was the King of Tonga from the death of his father Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV in 2006 until his own death six years later. ...
in July 2008 shortly before being crowned on 1 August 2008, and were preceded by a programme of constitutional reform. For the first time, a majority of the seats (17 out of 26) in the Tongan parliament were elected by
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stan ...
, with the remaining nine seats being reserved for members of Tonga's nobility. This marked a major progression away from the 165-year rule of the monarchy towards a fully representative democracy. The Taimi Media Network described it as "Tonga’s first democratically elected Parliament". The Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands, founded in September 2010 specifically to fight the election and led by veteran pro-democracy campaigner 'Akilisi Pohiva, secured the largest number of seats, with 12 out of the seventeen "people's representative" seats.


Background


Heading to political reforms

Prior to these elections, members of Tonga's Legislative Assembly (the ''Fale Alea'') were primarily appointed by the monarch, who also selected the
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
and the cabinet. Only nine of the 30 seats were popularly elected, and another nine were held by members of the aristocracy. In April 2010 the Legislative Assembly enacted a package of political reforms, increasing the number of people's representatives from nine to seventeen, with ten seats for
Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the nation ...
, three for
Vavaʻu Vavau is an island group, consisting of one large island ( ʻUtu Vavaʻu) and 40 smaller ones, in Tonga. It is part of Vavaʻu District, which includes several other individual islands. According to tradition, the Maui god created both Tongata ...
, two for Haʻapai and one each for
Niuas Niua is a division of the Kingdom of Tonga, namely the northernmost group of islands. It consists of three islands (Niuafoʻou, Niuatoputapu and Tafahi) which together have an area of 71.69 km2 and a population of 1,150. The largest village is ...
and ʻEua. All of the seats are single-seat constituencies, as opposed to the multi-member constituencies used before. These changes mean that now 17 of 26 representatives (65.4%) will be directly elected, up from 9 of 30 (30.0%). The noble aristocracy will still select its nine representatives, while all remaining seats, which were previously appointed by the monarch, will be abolished. While the cabinet and the prime minister were previously selected by the monarch, this time, the elected parliamentarians will vote for a prime minister. The changes come in the wake of violent pro-democracy demonstrations in November 2006, in which eight people were killed and much of the business district of Tongatapu destroyed as people protested against the slow movement toward political reform. The changes have been fully supported by the king. One of the candidates, Sione Fonua, said, "The king saw the signs that people wanted change and, to his credit, he has allowed that to happen".


Impact on the monarchy

Tonga is a very traditional society, and the role of the
monarchy A monarchy is a government#Forms, form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The legitimacy (political)#monarchy, political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restric ...
is extremely important. In response to the question of the impact the new legislation would have on his role, the King stated that while not officially reducing his powers, the reforms meant that he was now limited in his capacity to exercise these powers: Analysts, however, have said they are not yet certain what effective changes the political shift would bring. The king retains the power of
veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...
over certain laws, as well as the power to dismiss the government.


Election


People's representatives

Voter registration closed on 31 August, with approximately 42,000 voters registering. In November 2010, the Women's and Children's Crisis Centre expressed concern that up to 40% of eligible voters could have failed to register. Candidates were registered on 21 and 22 October, with 147 candidates contesting the 17 constituencies. The Tongatapu 6 and 9 constituencies were the most heavily contested, with 15 candidates each, while Ha'apai 13, 'Eua 11 and Niuas 17 had only three candidates each. Ten candidates were women. Only three of the incumbent Cabinet contested the elections. Candidates were required to pay a P400 (Tonga-pa'anga) registration fee (equivalent to $215 US or €165) and present the signatures of 50 eligible voters in support of their candidacy. The suffering
economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
was seen as the most significant priority for the campaigners. According to the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
, up to 40% of Tongans live on or below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
. In addition, the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
claims that Tonga's national debt is substantial and that the island nation is at high risk of not being able to pay them. In an address to the nation before polling stations opened, the King described the vote as "the greatest and most historic day for our kingdom". He went on to say, "You will choose your representative to the parliament and, thus, the first elected government in our country's long history."


Nobles' representatives

Elections to the nobles' seats was reformed, through the Representatives Electoral Regulations Act 2010. Each member of the nobility was henceforth only allowed to cast a vote in the constituency containing lands to which his title of nobility was attached. The four constituencies were: * a joint constituency for Tongatapu & ʻEua, corresponding to fourteen hereditary titles (thirteen in Tongatapu and one, Lasike, in ʻEua), and electing four representatives; * the constituency of Vavaʻu, corresponding to eight hereditary titles and electing two representatives; * the constituency of Haʻapai, corresponding to seven hereditary titles and electing two representatives; * the constituency of the Niuas, corresponding to four hereditary titles and electing one representative. There were two nobles who held two titles each: Prince ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho held the titles of Tupoutoʻa (in Haʻapai) and Lavaka (in Tongatapu), while Lord Kalaniuvalu of Tongatapu was jointly Lord Fotofili of the Niuas. It is not clear whether this enabled these two men to cast two ballots. In addition, there were three unattributed titles: Maʻatu in the Niuas, and ʻAhomeʻe and Fohe in Tongatapu. Also, King Tupou V had, since 2008, instituted the unprecedented title of "Law Lords" for three men ( Ramsay Robertson Dalgety, Tevita Poasi Tupou and Taniela Tufui), conferring upon them a non-hereditary life title which entitled them to vote in a nobles' constituency of their choosing, but not to be elected. Dalgety and Tupou chose to vote in Tongatapu, and Tufui in Haʻapai. Consequently, there were twelve to fourteen potential voters in Tongatapu (depending on where Prince Tukuʻaho and Lord Kalaniuvalu chose to vote), eight in Vavaʻu, seven or eight in Haʻapai, and two or three in the Niuas.


Results

According to election officials, approximately 89% of the 42,000 registered voters cast ballots. A delegation of fourteen observers from Australia 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 ...
were in Tonga to observe the election. Reports said they were pleased at the way the election had been managed. The outcome of the election resulted in a plurality of seats for the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands, who won 12 out of the 17 "people's representative" seats,. with only some 29% of the votes (because of the
First Past the Post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
voting system being used). Once the results were finalised, the newly elected representatives selected a prime minister. Tongans, who have traditionally looked to the nobility for leadership, had widely expected it to be a nobleman. After their election, however, the nobles' representatives announced that they would support a commoner for prime minister but ultimately decided to support Lord Tu'ivakano.


People's representatives


Noble representatives

The nobles' representatives are:


Government formation

Following the election, the DPFI secured the support of one independent and was seeking the support of two others – 'Aisake Valu Eke and
Sunia Fili Sunia Manu Fili (born 1 December 1965) is a Tongan politician and former Cabinet Minister. He is a former member of the Human Rights and Democracy Movement and the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands. Biography Fili graduated with a BA ...
– by offering them cabinet posts. Following concerns the noble representatives would support one of the independents for Prime Minister, the DPFI decided to hold a public rally to build public support. The formal process of electing a Prime Minister will begin after the final election results are formally notified, with the appointment of an interim Speaker and a call for nominations. MPs will then vote by secret ballot in one or more rounds, until a candidate is elected. On 3 December 2010 the King appointed Lord Tupou as interim Speaker. The three MPs from Vava'u are considered to be pro-monarchy. Sosefo Fe’aomoeata Vakata reportedly left the DPFI and became an independent, and was likely to support the nobles together with the five independent MPs, resulting in a noble-led government. He joined a bloc of 15 members, including all nine noble representatives and five other people's representatives, to jointly nominate a Prime Minister. The DPFI rejected these claims and stated it still expects to form the government. A vote was scheduled for 17 December, but then delayed to 20 December. On 15 December 2010, DPFI MP 'Isileli Pulu claimed that the DPFI had the support of 14 of the 17 popularly elected MPs and of a few nobles, 18 MPs in total. On 20 December 2010 Samuela 'Akilisi Pohiva and Siale'ataonga Tu'ivakano were nominated for Prime Minister. The election was postponed to 21 December 2010. Tu'ivakano was elected by 14 votes to 12. On 31 December Tu'ivakano named his cabinet, which included six people's representatives, three nobles, and two commoners appointed from outside Parliament.


References


External links


Full candidate list
{{Tongan elections
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 ...
Elections in Tonga 2010 in Tonga November 2010 events in Oceania