Editor's comment, by Pesi Fonua

Tongan voters will be put on the spot on November 27 to elect a new government that could save the country from its current economic downward spiral, and to start a recovery process that will restore the trust and confidence of the people in the system of government that was implemented in 2010.

It is a tough call for Tonga to elect into government a team that could save the country from bankruptcy.

There appears to be a conviction that we can't survive in this global economy, but we can be part of it by becoming fully reliant on the assistance of donor countries.

With that sort of attitude, as we have witnessed from the start, the parliament has distracted our attention by the old rugby tactic that if you can't get a grip on the ball, you start a fight so that they stop the game.

Look back over the past four years, there was a costly government-led investigation for the alleged mishandling of government funds by the previous government. Then a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister which dragged on for months.

Looking for answers

In two weeks time Tonga will have its second General Election, under the more democratic system of government it introduced at the end of 2010.

The more democratic system of government was implemented with the conviction that it would provide answers to our economic, political and social problems.

Tonga's General Election appears to be straight forward, an election of a mere 26 members of parliament to run a country of around 100,000 people for the next four years. But getting it to work and to address its raison d'être remains a mirage in the ocean.

The rapidly revolving door to Cabinet over the last four years is proof that the new system of government does not provide Tonga with a pool of capable candidates for cabinet minister selection.

Tonga remains worse-off than we were four years ago and the predictions by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank are not very encouraging.

Challenge

Now the task of getting the system to work depends on finding the candidates who will accept the challenge. The constituencies have a right to put them there, and voters can choose the candidates whom they think can make our new system of government work.

It is therefore very important for both the constituencies and the candidates to understand Tonga's reformed system of government.

The decision for Tonga to speed up its democratization process was in response to a global trend that a democratic system of government is a requirement in order for a developing country like Tonga to be part of a global economic system that is in the making.

Unity of Power

We settled for a Constitutional Monarchy, though democratic with a unity of power like the United Kingdom, but remaining different from the republican inspired system of a separation of powers.

The unity of power concept was deemed essential for a small country like Tonga, with a small talent pool. Unity of power requires consensus in decision making.

Tonga's Parliament has been described as two houses under one roof, meaning that of the 26 members, nine were elected by 33 nobles of the realm and 17 were elected by the commoners from 17 constituencies.

The 26 elected members must elect a Prime Minister from among themselves. Then the Prime Minister chooses his Cabinet Ministers from the 25 elected members. He may also appoint four Cabinet Ministers from outside the Parliament, but on the condition that these appointed ministers are not allowed to vote in a “Vote of no confidence” against the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister can't have more than 12 Cabinet Ministers. The logic behind this formula is to have a government that is permanently outnumbered in parliament, theoretically giving an incentive for government to consider minority opinions.

This formula, however, has not been working. It will not work under the current trend of thought by some candidates who have formed political parties, simply because the division created by these political parties reduces the majority of the members of parliament against those of the government.

If we want a multi-party system of government then we should change the current system.

Nobles

There are also allocated positions in the House. The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker will always be nobles, and during the first four years under this new system of government that was introduced in 2010, the Minister of Land had to be a noble.

Significant under the new system was the fact that the King in Council surrendered his executive power to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.

The new system of government is made up of the Parliament, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet and the King in Council.

There is also a Great Officer of State known as the Lord Chancellor. He is responsible for the preservation of the impartiality and independence of the Courts from political influence or intimidation. He is also responsible for the safety and protection of the courts and the judges.

Judges and the Lord Chancellor are appointed with advice from the Judicial Appointments and Discipline Panel (JADP); the membership of which comprises of the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice, the Law Lords-in-Waiting and the Attorney General. The JADP is also responsible for the appointment of the Police Commissioner, Electoral Commissioner, the Attorney General, Electricity Regulator Commissioner and the Anti-corruption Commissioner.

Desperate

Our needs become more desperate as the years go by, as Tonga’s international debt is mounting, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is low, exports are few, while imports are high. The salaries, particularly of civil servants are increasing, though productivity remains low and government is relying on aid donors to balance the national budget.

With the coming election, it looks like we are going to continue with the trend, with the People's Representatives splitting up into parties. The parliament and the cabinet will continue with this unproductive infighting while the economy is paralyzed because the parliament can't get the reformed system to work as it was designed to.

The alternative is to adjust the system. In the meantime, until we fully understand how our system works, and why it doesn't work, we will continue to struggle. It is a suicidal approach.

But on November 27 the General Election challenges the voters to find a new government that can effectively lead Tonga under the current system of government.