| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Fale Alea / Legislative Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
27 November 2014 |
| Purpose of elections |
The Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands (DPFI), led by the veteran pro-democracy MP 'Akilisi Pohiva, took eight of the 17 directly elected seats (known as "commoners". The remaining nine seats are held by indirectly elected Nobles). Independent candidates took the other seats, two of whom joined the DPFI following the elections. No women were elected, although a record 16 women stood for the elections, up from 10 in 2010.
During the election campaign, the DPFI promised to "complete the reform" that started in 2010 (see note). 73-year-old DPFI leader Pohiva pledged to form a "government of the people" led by a commoner Prime Minister and promised to give the highest priority to good governance, transparency, accountability and anti-corruption measures.
On 29 December, the new Legislative Assembly elected DPFI leader Pohiva as the new Prime Minister, who thereby became first-ever elected commoner premier. The outgoing Prime Minister Lord Tu'ivakano was elected Speaker. After receiving the endorsement of King Tupou VI the following day, the new 12-member Cabinet - comprising five DPFI members, one Noble and six independent members took office on 19 January 2015.
Note:
Since the 2010 elections, the majority of the members in the Legislative Assembly are chosen by direct elections (17 commoners).
In accordance with Clause 59 of the 2010 Constitution, the Legislative Assembly shall be composed of the representatives of the nobles (currently nine), the representatives of the people (currently 17) and all members of the Cabinet. The Cabinet may include not more than four persons who are not elected to the Legislative Assembly (Clause 51). The Legislative Assembly may thus comprise up to 30 members (nine nobles, 17 representatives of the people and up to four non-elected members in the Cabinet). However, since the Cabinet formed in January 2015 does not comprise any non-elected members, the total number of members remains at 26. |
Date of previous elections: 25 November 2010
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 11 September 2014
Timing of election:Upon normal expiry
Expected date of next elections: November 2018
Number of seats at stake: 17 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 107 (91 men, 16 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 15%
Number of parties contesting the election: 2
Number of parties winning seats: 1
Alternation of power: Yes
Number of parties in government: 1
Names of parties in government: Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands (DPFI)
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 29 December 2014
Name of the new Speaker: Lord Tu'ivakano |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 27 November 2014 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
51'448
40'727 (79.16%)
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Notes
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| Distribution of votes |
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| Distribution of seats |
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| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
26
0
0.00%
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| Distribution of seats according to age |
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| Distribution of seats according to profession |
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| Comments |
| Source: Legislative Assembly (03.12.2014, 21.01.2015, 01.01.2017) |
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