With Snap Election, Tonga Cements Commoner Rule

The process of democratic reform in Tonga received a strong endorsement at the snap election held in mid-November. After having his government dismissed by the country’s king in August, 'Akilisi Pohiva's Democratic Party received a convincing electoral affirmation, winning 14 of the legislature’s 17 seats allotted for Tonga’s general public. The victory serves as a repudiation of the king and the country’s “nobles,” who conspired to remove Pohiva.

The dissolution of Parliament by the king in August came after accusations that Pohiva’s government was acting unconstitutionally in signing international agreements, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Pacific region’s PACER Plus free trade agreement, without the approval of the king. There was also concern over Pohiva’s belief that the government, rather than the king, should appoint positions like the police commissioner, the attorney general, and the anti-corruption commissioner.

These actions indicate that Pohiva, a long-time pro-democracy campaigner, was keen to extend the country’s recent political reforms, and continue to reduce the power of the king. In 2010, under the current king’s brother, Tonga conducted a series of major democratic reforms that shifted the political system away from a heavy concentration of power in the hands of the king and toward the more hands-off ideals of a constitutional monarchy. 

The reforms also realigned the country’s parliament, increasing the number of Peoples’ Representatives from nine of the 26 seats to 17. The country’s 33 nobles had their representation reduced to nine seats (which they elect within themselves). Tongan society retains its own unique social structure based on a hierarchy of the king, the 33 landowning nobles, and the “commoners,” who make up the rest of the country’s 110,000 people.  Pohiva is a “commoner,” and the first person from this social group to be elected prime minister. The democratic reforms that have shifted the power balance in the country remain a source of great tension.

The dismissal of the Pohiva government by the king (at the behest of the Parliament’s  speaker, a noble) indicated that the trajectory toward concentrating more power in popularly elected officials, and away from the king and the nobility, was still having some teething problems. The country’s traditional elite seem to remain suspicious of these new divisions of power. However, due to the king’s dismissal of the government, November’s election became a de facto referendum on how power is divided in Tongan society. Pohiva and his party had little motivation to subdue their desire to further dilute the power of the elites.

It seems the traditional elites overplayed their hand with the dissolution of the government in August. The move shifted the election narrative away from other concerns with the Pohiva government, like nepotism and financial mismanagement, to broader issues about where power lies, and how Tongan society would like to see it divided. The election result, with the Democratic Party gaining five extra seats – moving from nine to 14 – is a strong repudiation of the actions of the king to dismiss the government, and an indication that greater political reform is desired.

As the third election conducted since the major democratic reforms were introduced in 2010, this poll could be seen as a consolidation of not only the public’s comprehension of the system and its processes, but also their willingness to express themselves through it, and give an indication of the future trajectory of democratic governance in Tonga.

While this is a positive step toward wider distribution of power, there remains a strong gendered power imbalance in public representation. There were concerns prior to the election that Tonga might follow Papua New Guinea and regress into a legislature with no female representation at all. These fears were allayed with two woman gaining seats, an addition of one from the previous parliament. While far from ideal, the participation of 15 women within the 86 candidates is to be seen as a positive step within Tonga’s deeply patriarchal society.

If Pohiva is genuine about his desire for the broader Tongan public to have greater enfranchisement in public administration, then an increase in female participation will need to be on his agenda. Pohiva’s mandate is now strong enough to pursue his vision, and the king and the nobles will need to decide whether they wish to be positive contributors to Tonga’s political evolution, or remain obstructionists.