Registration closes with over 40,000 Tongan voters [1]
Friday, September 3, 2010 - 13:22. Updated on Monday, September 9, 2013 - 18:40.
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ABOUT 40,000 Tongan voters have registered for the 2010 Tonga General Election, to be held in November, after the final round of registration closed throughout Tonga on Tuesday August 31.
Election Supervisor Pita Vuki said Tonga's final Electoral Roll would be published on Thursday, September 9 but he estimated that it was now over 40,000.
He said they were still compiling the figures in Tongatapu, Vava'u, Ha'apai, 'Eua and the two Niuas and would release them in detail when the final electoral roll was published.
Pita also said that a supplementary registration would be open to those who turn 21 after September 9.
"We will open registrations for only these people until the first week of November."
He said that some Tongans who lived overseas had travelled to Tonga to register and they were required to register in the village they last lived in.
The first round of registrations began on June 2 and ended in early July where a Provisional Electoral Roll was published with just over 38,000 voters in Tonga.
The final round of registration began on July 20 ending on August 31.
On the last Electoral Roll for the 2008 election, there were over 60,000 voters, but this figure included many people who had died or left the country.
The 2010 registration process whereby voters have been photographed and bar-coded, will provide up to date figures with more demographic detail.
Pita said those who failed to register may be imposed a penalty fee of $50 pa'anga.
Copyright © www.matangitonga.to [2]