Results for Tonga Legislative Assembly

The Office of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga has advised the Matangi Tonga Online to retract its report of 22 August 2023 titled “Parliament goes dark while Auditor General's Report exposes financial ‘weaknesses’ ”. Their advice was issued in a Press Release published on the Fale Alea website on 30 August. Our article stated that the radio had been silenced during debate on the Auditor General's Report. We have corrected our sentence to read: “The live broadcasts on the radio were disrupted during the week when the Auditor General's Report for 2020/2021 and 2021/ 2022 was returned to the House for debate.”

Tonga’s parliament passed the national Annual Budget for FY2023-2024 of $784.2 million pa’anga last night, 28 June, with 14-0 votes. The Minister of Finance, Hon. Tiofilusi Tiueti said there is a budget deficit of $27.2 million. From the House by Pesi Fonua.

In a very short “soft closing” of the 2022 session of Tonga’s Legislative Assembly, King Tupou VI extended his hope that work would continue to assist the economic development of the country, while acknowledging the assistance of foreign partners.

The House spent all day on Wednesday 1 February 2023, debating an Anti-Corruption Commissioner Amendment Bill 2023, one of two Bills that are in the House’s current working agenda. The amendment bill, which passed its third reading today, means that the Anti-Corruption Commissioner may be paid less than a Supreme Court judge and the salaries are no longer equal. From the House by Pesi Fonua.

The Tongan Parliament went into a closed session when it opened on Wednesday, after a three-weeks break, and there was no broadcasting of the morning’s proceedings. So what was parliament doing on the morning of November 23? From the House by Pesi Fonua.

Four elected members of parliament were absent from the opening session of the new 2022-25 parliament yesterday, including the Speaker of the House Lord Fakafanua. No explanation was offered to the public for the absence of the Speaker and three others, at the swearing-in of newly elected members. From the House by Pesi Fonua

Polling opened at 9:00am this morning, at 200 polling stations throughout Tonga, in the General Election held every four years. It's a fine day for voting and in the capital, traffic is lively. After polls close at 4:00pm the preliminary running results will be announced by the Election Commission and by around 8:00-10:00pm tonight we'll know the leading candidates. Election Supervisor, Pita Vuki, hopes that more voters than ever will turnout today and reverse a trend of growing voter disaffection that saw the last turnout drop to about half of registered electors. By Mary Lyn Fonua.

Tonga's parliament suppressed live broadcasting of its debate this morning, in their first sitting since King Tupou VI questioned the honesty, integrity and abilities of the members at the opening of Parliament on 6 May. A total of 18 MPs agreed their draft letter of response to the king and debate on it should be not broadcasted live. From the House by Pesi Fonua

Tonga's parliament has gone into recess again, after the Prime Minister withdrew 16 bills “to have another look” at them. The PM also told the House that Tonga’s State of Emergency to counter the Coronavirus Pandemic had been extended again from 12 September to 12 March 2021. From the House by Pesi Fonua