Results for democracy

Since its invention in ancient Greece more than 2,500 years ago, democracy has depended on rules and institutions that strike a balance between participation and power. The objective is to create a system of governance in which elected leaders bring to bear their knowledge and experience, in order to advance the interests of the people. The rule of law and the separation of powers, guaranteed by a system of checks and balances, are vital. Democracies all over the world are enduring a stress test. If they are to pass, their institutional underpinnings must be reinforced. That requires, first and foremost, an understanding of what those underpinnings are, why they matter, and who is trying to dismantle them. By Alexandra Borchardt

Prime Minister Pohiva has been an oppositional leader in Tonga's government since 1987...now that he is the Prime Minister and head of government, he still continues with the same mindset of governing in opposition, undermining his very own government. He opposes the majority of Tongans who decry his outrageous disregard for following policies, procedures, and the law. Simply put, PM Pohiva does not practice what he once preached passionately: democracy. - 'Ana Tausinga.

A push for the development of political parties in democratic societies in the Pacific by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was the focus of a dialogue held this week in Momi Bay, Fiji where over 40 representatives from the Pacific region attended, including Tonga. UNDP's Bakhodir Burkhanov said political parties need to be “more than just a temporary vehicle for the promotion of the interests of one political leader or a small group”.

Please Prime Minister Pohiva, think again and do not harden your heart, because you are making a mockery of our Parliamentary system...you have Tongans and friends of Tonga with the archeological, cultural, environmental and engineering expertise and the hearts and minds to build our nation, please Prime Minister use them. You are destroying our environment and in the process destroying our very fragile “democracy” and our trust in you and this Government. -‘Ana Hau‘alofa‘ia Koloto

Tonga's parliament has rejected a Private Member's Bill that sought to change how Tongans elect a Prime Minister and proposing that a care-taker government run government when parliament closes at the end of the month, in preparation for the Parliamentary General Election in November next year. The bill presented by 'Aisake Eke's was rejected by the House this afternoon with a vote of 15-6. From the House, by Pesi Fonua.

'Parliamentary Process in a Democracy' was the subject of a three day workshop held in Tonga last week by a New Zealand parliamentary delegation.

'Oku 'ikai ke fakapapau'i mai 'e he Fa'ahi Fakapolitikale ko e Temokalati (Democracy) 'oku ne lava 'o solova 'a e palopalema mo e to nounou kotoa 'a ha Fonua. Ko e fa'ahi Politikale Fakalangi pe 'i Hevani tene lava. Ko e tefito'i fakakaukau 'oku taukave'i 'e he Temokalati ia ko 'ene malava ke fakamalohi'i ha Pule'anga mo hono kau taki kuo fili ke nau ha'isia ki honau fatongia ki he kakai 'o e fonua.

Tonga's prodemocracy movement tightly hold Lord Acton's tail when he said, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." For years, they intoxicated the mass with that quote as if it is another absolute proposition from our Creator. Let me try to debunk Acton's nake half-truth.

The trial of five People's Representatives who are charged with sedition is postponed again awaiting a decision by the Court of Appeal, but a two-day hearing on legal arguments will be held in the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court on September 25-26.