The debate over Tonga's election issues includes the palace's role and voting rights for overseas Tongans. Photo / Mary Lyn Fonua
By Teuila Fuatai of RNZ
With just three weeks to go before Tongans head to the polls, the debate over election issues is heating up.
Under the spotlight are the role of the palace in the country’s democratic process and calls for voting rights for overseas-based Tongans. The state of the economy and access to health care are also being examined.
Tongan political scientist Dr Malakai Koloamatangi said for many Tongans, bread-and-butter election issues remained important.
“People are just wanting to get on with life, and they want the best conditions ... for them to get a job, put their kids through school, a roof over their heads, vehicles and to meet their obligations around social [and] cultural [customs].”
Koloamatangi, who is the registrar at the Tonga National University, believed voters wanted to see policies that addressed increasing living costs and fuel shortages, which have caused significant disruptions to daily life.
“We’re not seeing abject poverty in Tonga but things like wages need to be raised in order to meet the rising cost of the standard of living.
“And we’re still having issues with petrol and oil not arriving on time. So big queues at the gas stations and so on.”
A former political adviser Lopeti Senituli said the role of the palace and its noble representatives in Parliament was under increasing scrutiny.
The Tonga Parliament is made up of noble and people’s representatives. On polling day, regular voters cast ballots to elect 17 people’s representatives to Parliament, while the kingdom’s nobles vote for nine noble representatives.
Senituli said King Tupou IV’s displeasure over the behaviour of previous noble representatives to Parliament was well known.
“Some of them have not performed like a noble, have not acted like a noble. Some of them, for example, have been investigated for being involved in drug smuggling from America,” he said.
He said candidates would be acutely aware of the power dynamic between the palace and Parliament, particularly since former Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni resigned in December last year before a vote of no confidence.
Hu’akavameiliku reportedly clashed with King Tupou VI over key ministerial portfolios that were traditionally held by the monarchy.
“The King is, to put it mildly, not happy with the noble representatives in Cabinet in previous governments. And of course, he was not happy with the previous Prime Minister.”
Senituli said, while Hu’akavameiliku’s successor, incumbent Prime Minister Dr ‘Aisake Eke enjoyed the support of the King, he was not guaranteed the top job again.
“Winning his actual electoral electorate is guaranteed in my view, but whether or not he can pull together a Cabinet made up of 12 supporters from the nine members of nobility and 16 people’s reps is another matter.”
Both Senituli and Koloamatangi believe the provision in Tonga’s Constitution, which states the Prime Minister can nominate up to four Cabinet ministers who were not elected representatives, added another layer of complexity to Tonga’s governing processes.
Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala was appointed to his Cabinet position in Eke’s Government through this mechanism. He holds both the foreign affairs and defence force portfolios.
Senituli believed that overlap in power between the palace and executive needed to be addressed as Tonga worked towards becoming a mature democracy.
However, Koloamatangi disagreed, saying it was a long-standing tradition for future monarchs to hold Cabinet positions.
“Most of the kings of Tonga, the monarchs, were trained in that way,” Koloamatangi said.
“Whilst their fathers were still on the throne, they were given the responsibilities in government. So I think it’s a good training ground for the Crown Prince.”
Meanwhile, overseas-based Tongans are also keeping tabs on developments, with many calling for voting rights in their home nation. Under current rules, only those who live in Tonga are eligible to vote.
Kennedy Fakanaanaaki-Fualu, secretary for the Auckland Tongan Community organisation, said members of the diaspora like him contributed significantly to Tonga.
“If it wasn’t for the remittances [sent from overseas-based Tongans], Tonga would be in deep, deep trouble,” he said.
“We should be given the right to vote, especially if you’re a Tongan citizen.”
Tonga’s polling day is set for November 20.
About 65,000 people will be eligible to vote. Those casting ballots must do it in person, with no provisions for overseas or absentee voting.
-RNZ