By Kalino Latu, editor of Kaniva News

The government of Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva has planned an audience with the King of Tonga after a New Zealand legal expert advised that the king had no right to judge the merits of legislation passed by Parliament.

A government spokesperson said the plan was made after cabinet accepted the New Zealand lawyer Dr Rodney Harrison’s recommendations.

Pōhiva told Kaniva News in a recent interview that six Amendment Bills were submitted by the Tu’ivakanō government in 2014 and were passed by Parliament.

However, when submitted to King Tupou VI in Privy Council for his approval and signature he rejected the new laws.

These amendments included Acts of Constitution of Tonga (Amendment Bill) 2014, Judicial and Legal Service Commission 2014, Tonga Police (Amendement Bill) 2014, National Spatial Planning and Management (Amendment Bill) 2014, Magistrate Court Amendment Bill 2014 and Public Service Amendement Bill 2014.

Pōhiva said the Amendment Bills 2014 were submitted by the Tu’ivakanō government after the constitution was reviewed by a Commonwealth constitutional law expert, Peter Pursglove.

As Kaniva News reported, Pursglove said that Tonga’s 2010 constitution did not uphold democracy, the Privy Council lacked any democratic composition or accountability and the judiciary lacked accountability and transparency.

Amendment bills left
Pōhiva said when his government came to power in November 2014, the Tu’ivakanō government had left these amendement bills for them to complete working on them.

He said they pursued some of these bills, including some that concerned the assignment of the Attorney-General to the Privy Council, which Pursgrlove said was unconstitutional.

In a response to a request by the Prime Minister’s office for an opinion on the legality of the Royal Assent Order 2011, Dr Harrison said it appeared there was a misconception that the king had the “power to grant or refuse the Royal Assent conferred by Clause 56 of the Constitution”.

Dr Harrison recommended that the government try to get the king to alter his views on his powers by “reasoned persuasion”. Seeking a judicial ruling is also an option.

The government spokesperon said the Prime Minister wanted to talk to the king first as he wanted to make sure the constitution was correctly interpreted and followed through.

He said the Prime Minister believed the king would consider Dr Harrison’s advice favourably.

Vetoed by king
Minister of Justice Vuna Fa’otusia said many of the amendments to laws and the constitution passed by Parliament were vetoed by the king because of the Judicial Committee.

The Judicial Committee was comprised of some law lords and was chaired by Lord Dalgety of Scotland. The minister said if the committee did not agree with laws and amendments to the constitutions which were already passed by the Parliament the king would reject those laws.

Dr Harrison said the Law Lords played no specific constitutional role and they did not have any constitutional function or role as scrutineers of legislation or the legislative process.

Royal Assent 2011:
56 Power of Legislative Assembly

The King and the Legislative Assembly shall have power to enact laws, and the
representatives of the nobles and the representatives of the people shall sit as one
House. When the Legislative Assembly shall have agreed upon any Bill which has
been read and voted for by a majority three times it shall be presented to the King
for his sanction and after receiving his sanction and signature it shall become law
upon publication. Votes shall be given by raising the hand or by standing up in
division or by saying “Aye” or “No”

This article is republished by Asia Pacific Report with permission.

By Kalino Latu, editor of Kaniva News

Tonga’s Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva disagrees with a decision by his Minister of Education to ban girls from Tonga High School boxing or playing rugby.

He said the decision was not in line with his government’s policy.

“It is the government’s responsibility to provide opportunities for all the students to participate in all sports,” the Prime Minister said.

“It is for the individual students and their parents to decide whether or not they should participate in a particular sport like rugby and boxing.”

Education Minister Penisimani Fifita and his education authority had imposed the ban.

Meanwhile, a former Catholic principal said that if Catholic schools agreed with the Ministry’s decision it would be “a disgrace” for the church.

Fr ‘Aisake Vaisima, who was principal of ‘Apifo’ou College before he left Tonga for Fiji for a new role in January, told Kaniva News the Catholic church’s education authority had not banned its school girls from taking part in boxing and rugby.

The comments came after a controversial letter from the Ministry of Education and Training was leaked to news media, sparking an outrage that polarised international news as far away as New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Majority not affected
It is understood the ban does not affect the majority of school girls in Tonga, especially at the church and private schools which are attended by 90 percent of all students in the kingdom.

In the letter, an education authority told the principal of Tonga High School, a government-sponsored institute, that a decision had been made by the Director of Education to ban its girls from participating in rugby and boxing.

The letter, which was written in Tongan, was dated March 15.

It Tongan it said:

“Ko hono ‘uhinga he ‘oku fepaki ia mo ‘etau ‘ulungaanga fakafonua ki hono tauhi ke molumalu ‘a ha’a fafine, ‘o taau mo e tala tukufakaholo na’e fatu’aki ‘a e fakava’e na’e fakatoka talu pea mei ono’aho ‘o kehe ai ‘a Tonga pea mei ha toe fonua ‘i he Pasifiki pea mo mamani.”

This translates into English as: “The reason is because it is against our culture to keep women dignified so it still upholds the tradition of which its basis had been set out since the olden days making Tonga exceptional in the Pacific and the world.”

Prime Minister Pohiva, said the letter from the Ministry of Education and Training to Tonga High School “purporting to ban girls from participating in rugby and boxing is not Tongan Government policy,” his office said in a statement this afternoon.

“Sports is good for the health and the wellbeing of the people and this government, like previous governments, actively encourages the participation of every Tongan student in all sports without discrimination.”

International reaction
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has expressed her disapproval over the ban.

Ardern said New Zealand’s aid support for sports in Tonga would not be threatened, but she disagreed with the directive.

“As a school student I played touch rugby and I would encourage all young women to engage in whatever sporting code they are interested in,” Ardern said.

“We provide funding via MFAT to Tonga to encourage children’s participation in sports. A young woman will still be able to do that through their villages, even if this dictate is made by these schools.”

The New Zealand-funded Sports for Health Rugby Programme was launched at Kolomotu’a Community Rugby Field in February.

Known as Quick Rip, it was intended to focus on girls and boys aged 13 – 18 years of age.

New Zealand provided NZ$4 million to support efforts in four Pacific countries, including Tonga, to reduce the rate of non-communicable diseases in the Pacific.

Some people on Facebook supported the ministry’s move and said rugby and boxing were sports for men only and Tongan girls should not take part in them.

Kaniva News has a sharing arrangement with Asia Pacific Report.

By Kalino Lātū, editor of Kaniva News

Tongan Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva told his supporters that if he had really wanted to take away people’s land and the royal powers he would have made himself Minister of Defence and Minister of Land at the last election.

Pōhiva made the revelation on Tuesday night when he spoke in front of hundreds of his Tongatapu 1 constituents at the Uaiselē Hall at Sipu Road in Kolomotu’a before Thursday’s snap general election, which boosted the Democrats with a landslide win.

He was rejecting claims by his political opponents that he had a secret agenda to take away people’s rights to their land and give it to the nobles.

Kaniva News was unable to publish anything on his speech immediately because of Tonga’s electoral law which prohibited the publication of any material that could promote a candidate within 24 hours of Thursday’s election.

In his speech, the Prime Minister said he struggled in 2014 to choose a minister for the Ministry of Land and His Majesty’s Armed Forces.

Pōhiva, who was re-elected to Parliament in Thursday’s election, said he lay down at home at night and “thought deeply” about the problem.

‘Fragile’ future
He said he knew how “very fragile” the future of land and the defence services seemed in some people’s minds, especially the nobility and the royals while he – a man who had called for significant changes to the status quo in the past 30 years – was leading the country.

He finally made up his mind to appoint Lord Ma’afu from the nobility to the posts.

He thought the noble’s appointment could show the nation his ambition to bring about reforms that could bring more stability to Tonga.

He said politicians who campaigned against him during the snap election misled the people by telling them he was trying to unnecessarily remove the king’s power.

“That was not right,” Pōhiva said.

Protecting His Majesty
Pōhiva, whose critics accused him of wanting to “become king”, said he understood the way he wanted to protect the king put him and his government in a delicate situation.

The Prime Minister was referring to submissions from Cabinet to amend the constitution, including a proposal to reinstate the former Privy Council structure in which the king met with cabinet ministers in Privy Council.

The move was described by the Minister of Justice Vuna Fā’otusia as an attempt to make sure the king was directly informed first hand about government matters by the ministers because they were the ones who did government’s administration work.

Fā’otusia said the current structure was not secure because the Privy Council was filled with people who were not elected by the people and were not accountable to the public.

Pōhiva explained that amending the law would benefit the king and the people, but unfortunately his critics had twisted and demonised their intentions.

‘Dirty politics’
He described it as “dirty politics” and thanked his followers for helping defeat his rivals in the three decades he had been involved in Tongan politics.

Tuesday night’s meeting was repeatedly interrupted by applause and yells of support from the audience.

As Kaniva News reported on Friday, Pōhiva and his Democratic Party won 14 parliamentary seats which enabled them to form the next government without needing the help of the nobility or the independents.

It is understood Pōhiva and his cabinet were due to meet this weekend, although the line-up of the cabinet has not been announced yet.

Asia Pacific Report republishes Kaniva News stories with permission.

By Philip Cass of Kaniva News

Tonga’s Democrats have won 14 seats today in the snap election in the only Pacific kingdom, giving them enough seats in Parliament to form the next government without needing the support of independents.

Kaniva News editor Kalino Latu, who is covering the elections from Tonga, reports that
supervisor of Elections Pita Vuki confirmed a moment ago that the Democrats had added
five more seats to their tally.

Vuki said the Democrats had won two seats in Ha’apai, two in Vava’u and one in Niua.

The Democrat Party had already won a landslide victory in Tongatapu in today’s elections.

The only seat they lost is Tongatapu 3, which was won by former Deputy Prime Minister
Siaosi Sovaleni who was re-elected as an independent.

The official results:
Tongatapu 1 – ‘Akilisi Pohiva

Tongatapu 2 – Semisi Lafu Sika

Tongatapu 3 – Siaosi Sovaleni (Independent MP)

Tongatapu 4 – Mateni Tapueluelu

Tongatapu 5 – Losaline Ma’asi

Tongatapu 6 – Poasi Tei

Tongatapu 7 – Sione Vuna Fa’otusia

Tongatapu 8 – Semisi Fakahau

Tongatapu 9 – Penisimani Fakahau

Tongatapu 10 – Pohvia Tu’i’onetoa

‘Eua 11 – Tevita Lavumaau (Independent)

Ha’apai 12 – Mo’ale Finau

Ha’apai 13 – Veivosa Taka

Vava’u 14 – Dr Saia Piukala

Vava’u 15 – Samiu Vaipulu (Independent)

Vava’u 16 – Akosita Lavulavu

Niua 17 – Vavatau Hui

Huge support for Pohiva
There has been huge personal support for Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva.

Pohiva won in spite of being challenged by 10 candidates.

A total of 86 candidates stood today, including 15 women, for 17 open seats.

About 146 police officers were assigned to polling stations.

As Kaniva News reported earlier today, all but two of the Noble’s Representatives in Tonga’s Parliament have been re-elected.

Lord Vaha’i took the third Tongatapu seat coin toss after winning a coin toss with Lord Vaea.

Massey University director of Pasifika Dr Malakai Koloamatangi told Radio New Zealand the
importance of the vote could not be overstated.

“The first election was okay, 2010, it was testing the waters and so forth. 2014 was to see whether the mechanisms and machinery was in place,” he said.

“But this election, I think more than the others, even before 2010, will be the real litmus.”

Media academic Dr Philip Cass is a Kaniva News adviser and research associate of the Pacific Media Centre.

By Kalino Lātū, editor of Kaniva News

A coin toss was used to decide whether Lord Vaea or Lord Vaha’i today won the third seat of members of the nobility to Parliament in the kingdom of Tonga’s snap election.

Lord Vaha’i won the seat in provisional early results.

Meanwhile, Losaline Ma’asi of the Democratic Party was leading the Tongatapu 5 race by 971–908 votes against sitting MP Dr ‘Aisake Eke. The provisional results from ‘Atatā electorate have yet to be announced to give Tongatapu 5 outcome.

Dr Eke had secured the seat in the last two elections.

Other Democratic Party candidates were leading the race in their Tongatapu constituencies.

They were current Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva (Tt1), Semisi Lafu Sika (Tt2), Mateni Tapueluelu (Ttp4), Poasi Tei (Tt6), Vuna Fa’otusia (Tt7), Semisi Fakahau (Tt8), Penisimani Fifita (Ttp9) and Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa (Tt10)

Former Deputy Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni has been reelected by Tongatapu 3.

Seven nobles elected
The king’s 33 nobles have reelected seven nobles to Parliament, including the Speaker Lord Tu’ivakano and a minister in Prime Minister’s ‘Akilisi Pohiva’s government, Lord Ma’afu.

Vava’u, Niuas, Ha’apai and ‘Eua people provisional election results have yet to be announced.

More than 59,000 voters were registered for the election and there were 15 women candidates, the largest ever female cohort contesting the vote.

Noble’s Representatives 2017:
Tongatapu:
1. Lord Tu’ivakano 12 votes

2. Lord Ma’afu 11

3. Lord Vaha’i 7

Vava’u
1. Lord Tu’ilakepa 6 votes

2. Lord Tu’i’afitu 5

Ha’apai
1. Lord Tui’ha’angana 5 votes

2. Lord Fakafanua 3

‘Eua
1. Lord Nuku 10 votes

Ongo Niua
1. Lord Fusitu’a 3 votes

‘Atenisi Institute’s Dr Michael Horowitz with two Tongan newspapers — Koe Kele’a and Talaki — at last night’s seminar at Auckland University of Technology. Image: Del Abcede/PMC

By Kendall Hutt

The future of Tonga’s Democracy Coalition remains uncertain as next year’s election looms, a Nuku’alofa-based educator has concluded in a public seminar in Auckland last night.

Dr Michael Horowitz, academic dean of Tonga’s ‘Atenisi Institute, told the audience at his seminar titled Can the Democracy Coalition retain power in Tonga? the fate of the party – and with it the election due next year — was impossible to predict.

This is largely due to the fact no survey research is conducted, continuing Tonga’s “big surprise” election-day tradition, Dr Horowitz said.

Dr Horowitz, also a visiting research scholar with Auckland University of Technology’s Pacific Media Centre, said the Democracy Coalition may just hold on to power despite a “bumpy term littered with scandals”.

These scandals included a demand late in 2015 for Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva to surrender his education portfolio over the so-called “raw marks” policy controversy and the “cloudy issue” of state-owned Tongan Broadcasting Commission head of news Viola Ulakai’s suspension over alleged false representation, which prompted questions about Tonga’s media freedom status across the Pacific.

Tonga’s suspended state broadcasting news head Viola Ulakai … too questioning. Image: Kalafi Moala

‘Dragging feet’
Pōhiva stepped down as Education Minister last week following months of international condemnation by global media freedom groups.

Pōhiva’s administration is the first democratic government led by a commoner in Tonga’s history and came to power by a narrow margin in the 2014 election.

Dr Horowitz also highlighted the fact that Pōhiva’s government had failed — like those before it — to address Tonga’s poor economic situation, noting it was “dragging one’s feet to change the situation”.

A host of figures cited from the Ministry of Finance attest to the situation highlighted by Dr Horowitz, revealing much of Tonga’s gross domestic product (GDP) is comprised of remittances from family members living overseas (22 percent to be exact), and foreign donations to the tune of US $116 million in the fiscal year 2015 to 2016, meaning Tonga remained “dependent on the people’s generosity”, Dr Horowitz said.

‘Sense of some hope’
Dr Horowitz did, however, note the Democracy Coalition’s term had not entirely been clouded by scandals and economic downturn.

“People have a sense of some hope, some improvement.”

The “change of style” introduced by the Democracy Coalition to Tonga’s politics was something the people could still support despite the “hiccups”, Dr Horowitz noted.

Dr Horowitz also speculated that if the Democracy Coalition should fall, he would not be surprised if another prime minister emerged from the ranks of the nobles, although he did contend highly qualified Finance Minister Dr ‘Aisake Eke and Deputy Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni could be in the running.

Lecturer and filmmaker Paul Janman, present in the audience and the man behind the popular 2012 education documentary Tongan Ark, shared Dr Horowitz’s views, noting “2018, no one can tell”.

Janman, who also teaches screen production at AUT, reflected following Dr Horowitz’s talk that it had been “quite a revelation”, with much of the information Dr Horowitz shared having been only anticipated by the filmmaker after Tonga’s transition to democracy.

‘Democracy gaining traction’
“It’s been very enlightening to see the latest.”

Janman also said “the idea of democracy that has been aired and advocated for by schools such as ‘Atenisi is gaining traction”, despite persistence by what he described as “reactionary elements” present “in all kinds of different areas”.

A massive question mark looms over the Democracy Coalition’s future and its outcome in the 2018 election.

Dr Horowitz said “one doesn’t know” how the votes would go.

Dr Michael Horowitz with filmmaker Paul Janman, who made the documentary Tongan Ark about ‘Atenisi Institute. Image: Del Abcede/PMC Part of the audience at the seminar on Tonga politics and communication at Auckland University of Technology last night. Image: Del Abcede/PMC Pacific Media Centre advisory board chair Associate Professor Camille Nakhid opening the seminar. Centre director Professor David Robie is in the background and former Green Party foreign affairs spokesperson Keith Locke is on the left. Image: Del Abcede/PMC Senior lecturer Dr Frances Nelson (from left) and lecturer Janet Tupou at the seminar tonight. Image: Del Abcede/PMC