Life Peers may stand as candidates in Noble's Election

Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Life Peers leave the Palace Office after casting their votes with Nobles in the 2014 General Election. Left, Lord Sevele 'o Vailahi, Lord Dalgety 'o Sikotilani Tonga and Lord Tupou 'o Kolofo'ou. Right, Lord Matoto ' o Tu'anekivale. 27 November 2014.

A recent amendment to Tonga's Electoral Act early in September makes it possible for five life peers to stand as candidates when nobles elect their nine representatives to the Tongan Parliament on 16 November, the Electoral Commissioner, Pita Vuki told an Election Reporting Workshop this morning, 31 October.

Pita said that prior to the amendment to the Electoral Act, the Life Peers were able to vote in the noble's election but they were not able to stand as candidates.

“The change was to make them able to stand as well as to be able to vote. This was the change made this year."

He said the Electoral Commission had written to these five men asking them to clearly indicate whether or not they wanted to become candidates for the upcoming November 16 General Election. All five life peers had responded that they did not want to stand as candidates, he said.

The Life Peers are

Dalgety ‘o Sikotilani Tonga, (Tongatapu and 'Eua)
Tupou ‘o Kolofo’ou, (Tongatapu and 'Eua)
Sevele ‘o Vailahi, (Tongatapu and 'Eua)
Tangi ‘o Vaonukonuka (Vava'u)
Matoto ‘o Tu’anekivale (Vava'u)

Pita said he did not know why this change was introduced. “We are only conducting the elections on what is given to us under the law,” he said. The nobles election will be held between 10:00am and noon on November 16.

Tonga's King Tupou VI dissolved parliament on August 24 and issued a writ for an early general election.

The change to the Noble's Election Regulations was Gazetted two weeks later.

Amendment

The Electoral (Elections of Representatives of the Nobles) Regulations 2017, Gazetted on September 8, states:

Electoral Districts of Nobles
(1) A Noble shall only vote or stand for election as a representative in accordance with the Electoral Districts set out in the Schedule.

(2) Any person appointed by His Majesty as a Life Peer under clause 44 of the Constitution, and having the same rights and benefits of a Noble, may vote as a Noble for an Electoral District, and shall declare the Electoral District they will vote for to the Supervisor of Elections, and shall maintain it.

Under this regulation the names of the life peers are included in the list of Electoral Districts of Nobles in the Schedule. Pita clarified that this means that life peers can stand for election.

However, nobles and Life Peers are not subject to the same scrutiny given to the nominations for the the People's Representatives. "The process of nominations doesn't apply to the noble's election," he said. Therefore nobles and life peers were not scrutinised for outstanding debts to the courts and may still sit in parliament if they have the same sort of debts which would make a people's candidate ineligible.

Since the current political system was introduced in 2010, the composition of Tonga's parliament is made up of 17 People’s Representatives elected by the People and nine Nobles' Representatives elected by 33 nobles and five life peers. The life peers were first appointed by the late King George Tupou V.

Tonga's Acting Attorney General has stated previously when the amendment was passed that life peers share the same status as nobles and the change was to amend "an inconsistency with the Constitution".

Lord Tupou with Acting Attorney General 'Aminiasi Kefu on 6 September 2017. Photo: Caroline Manu Moli.

Electoral Elections of Representatives of the Nobles Regulations 2017.pdf [2]

The Regulation sets out a list of nobles by electoral districts:

[note: some noble titles appear in more than one district]

TONGATAPU