From the House by Pesi Fonua

The Tongan Parliament will begin the process of electing a new Prime Minister by calling for nominations from among themselves, after the funeral of the late Hon. ‘Akilisi Pohiva is over.

It could take three or four weeks to complete the process of nominations and voting by the 25 sitting members to find their leader.

Hon. Pohiva who passed away in Auckland, New Zealand at 9:00am, on Thursday 12 September, will be repatriated to Tonga  by the Royal New Zealand Air Force tomorrow afternoon, Tuesday, 17 September.

The Prime Minister had not attended parliament since it was scheduled to resume on 5 August.

No quorum

Parliament has been struggling to continue with its 2019 session because some of the members were either unable to attend because of ill health or were away overseas.

It finally got started on 12 August, although there was a delayed start because they did not have a quorum, and again after lunch for the same reason. Parliament must have a quorum of 13 before it can proceed.

Meanwhile, missing from the House and in a very unstable health condition were the PM Hon. ‘Akilisi Pohiva, and Lord Fusitu’a who had been evacuated for medical treatment in New Zealand a few days earlier.  

Apart from the missing members, the issues the House had to deal with were becoming more controversial as the days went by.

Amid members trying to reschedule their working programs, the Vava’u People Representative No. 15, Samiu Vaipulu moved for the House to petition the King to dismantle Parliament. He expressed his disappointment that Cabinet had enforced Regulations and enforced taxes on the sale of phone cards and Tongan tobacco, while bypassing the House.

Cabinet can enforce Regulations if the House is not in session, but once it is in session, the Regulations must be tabled into Parliament to complete the process and be legally enforced. These Regulations, however, had not been tabled into Parliament.

There were also controversial Petitions that the Acting Speaker deferred.

The House has yet to announce officially the date when parliament will elect a new Prime Minister.

Funeral Programme

The funeral cortege of the Prime Minister Hon. Samuela ‘Akilisi Pohiva will arrive in Tonga on Tuesday, 17 September at 3:00pm.

The Tongan Cabinet issued a public notice this evening, 16 September, to announce that it had decided that the funeral cortege of the Prime Minister will proceed from Fua‘amotu Airport to St George Government Building in Nuku‘alofa, where Hon. Samuela ‘Akilisi Pohiva will lie-in-state at from Tuesday evening to Thursday morning, 19 September, when the national flag will be flown at half-mast.

Thursday has been declared a Public Holiday and a National Day of Mourning in honour of the late Prime Minister.

The Funeral Service will be held at the Centenary Church on Thursday 19 September at 10:00am before interment at Telekava Cemetery.

Tomorrow Tuesday, is also a Public Holiday in Tonga for the birthday of the Crown Prince.