The election of Tonga's next Prime Minister will take place at 10:00am Monday, 29 December at the Parliament House, the Interim Speaker, Lord Tupou announced this morning.

The first part of the election process, the announcement of thenames of the two nominees and all supporting speeches will be opened to the public. Before the secret ballot papers are distributed to Members of Parliament, all members of the public must vacate the Parliament House.

In a statement the office of the Interim Speaker said that after the ballot papers are collected, they would be counted by the Chief Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and the Acting Auditor General in the presence of the Interim Speaker.

"If the result of the ballot gives a candidate a majority of votes (more than half of the votes), that candidate has won the election."

The Interim Speaker will then report the result of the election to King Tupou VI before it is announced to the elected Members of Parliament.

If the ballot does not provide a winning candidate with majority of the votes, the Interim Speaker will set a new date for another secret ballot.

Tonga had its General Election on 27 November, and since then has been waiting for the Parliament to complete its electoral procedure for the next Prime Minister, and a new government.