Results for Parliament

Lord Tu'ivakano (58) is Tonga's new Prime Minister Designate, after winning over 50% of a secret ballot in a Special Meeting of the Legislature to Elect a Prime Minister this morning.

An arrest warrant for Lord Lasike, the Speaker of the Tonga Legislative Assembly, has not been actioned, while it is understood that he remains in the United States.

Tonga's Speaker Lord Lasike "should resign," the Prime Minister Lord Tu'ivakano, said on Friday, after a second arrest warrant was issued for Lasike's breach of bail.

A mentally disturbed patient, suffering from schizophrenia, was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to 23 years in prison by Justice Robert Shuster at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court on 24 November.

Some simple arithmetic tells us that the House has met for only 164 hours this year - that's only 41 sittings - before they softly closed on Thursday October 21, before all their work was done. From the House, by Pesi Fonua.

In a year that has seen a dramatic increase in armed robberies in Tonga, parliament voted to massively reduce the penalties for the illegal possession of firearms - slashing the maximum penalty from $5,000 to only $1,000 and from five years imprisonment to only one year.

By the end of this week the Cabinet should make a definite decision on whether parliament should close on October 20 before it reopens again in February, or just take a long break to February before closing, the Minister of Justice, Hon Clive Edwards told the Tongan parliament on Monday, 10 October.

Although Tonga's Legislative Assembly discussed and criticized the practice of campaigning by members during their annual parliamentary tour to their constituencies, which is paid for by the House, no action was taken to curb the practice. Some PRs went out to hear what their constituencies needed, but one PR said he had a different approach and he went out to tell constituents what the government and house needed. The House ended up arguing about the burning of Nuku'alofa before abruptly changing the subject. From the House, by Pesi Fonua.

The issue of members of parliament being paid without doing any work was a matter of great concern to some members, when the Tongan parliament reconvened on 19 September after a three weeks break.