The Langafonua Tu‘uloa Party is challenging the remaining in office of the four Cabinet Ministers who were appointed by the late king, Taufa'ahau Tupou IV IN 2005.

This is a press release from Langafonua Tu'uloa (LT) in relation to the appointments of four ministers of the Crown in 2005 in accordance with a public proclamation in the TV Tonga in October or November 2004 by the then Prime Minister Prince 'Ulukalala Lavaka Ata.

The public proclamation stated that four MPS would be appointed following the general election in 2005 to be ministers of the Crown. It was made clear in the public proclamation that such appointments would largely be dependent on their mandate from the electorate.

In the Tongan version of the public proclamation it was made clear that the tenure of office of these four ministers will not be longer than the period that they were elected to Parliament. In other words the term of their appointment or their commission is only for three years.

The ministers were duly appointed in 2005.

However at the expiry of the three years those 4 ministers, namely the Prime Minister, the Minister of Tourism who replaces his predecessor Peauafi Haukinima, Minister of Works and Minister of Youths and Sports did not step down in accordance with the public proclamation made by the former Prime Minister.

Langafonua Tu'uloa, through its Lawyer, has written a letter to his Majesty King George Tupou V advising him that the continuation in office of the four ministers is unconstitutional.

The Lawyer for Langafonua Tu'uloa states in his letter that the four ministers including the Prime Minister should step down and if they do not do so a proceeding will be filed in the Supreme Court of Tong for a declaration that their continuation in office is unconstitutional and therefore null and void.

Langafonua Tu'uloa strongly believes that this is the best procedure (the public proclamation made by Prince 'Ukulala Lavaka Ata) to be adopted as far as the political change is concerned in Tonga. Interim government suggested by Clive Edwards is not the best way to achieve political and harmonious change in the Kingdom of Tonga. The proposed political change suggested by the government and the Tongan parliament to be carried out in 2010 is not also the best procedure. There are obvious reasons for this. LTP, 22//05/08.