Yes, as we prepare for the end of year festivities, Tonga’s parliament is preparing to vote for a new Prime Minister (PM) on Christmas eve.
This comes after Hon. Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni announced that he will resign as PM ahead of a vote of no-confidence (VONC) in parliament last Monday.
Sovaleni broke down in tears while he addressed his fellow MPs in Nuku’alofa moments before they were expected to debate the motion lodged by opposition MP, Dr ‘Aisake Eke.
“For the good of the country and moving Tonga forward, I will continue as an MP, but Mr Speaker, I will step down as the Prime Minister of Tonga,” Sovaleni said.
Sovaleni will remain the MP for Tongatapu three on Tonga’s main island while his former deputy Hon. Samiu Vaipulu steps up to Acting PM.
The 54 year old Sovaleni first entered politics in 2014 and held many roles from a cabinet minister and even as deputy PM until he was elevated to the top job in 2021.
In fact politics is in his blood. His late father Dr Langi Kavaliku (a Harvard scholar) was a cabinet minister in Tonga for three decades and also served as deputy prime minister in the 1990s.
The former PM Sovaleni defeated a previous VONC back in September last year put forward by Dr Eke.
Political commentator Mafua ‘a e lulutai Malakai Koloamatangi says, what’s happening is part of the ‘normal’ contest for power.
“The resignation of Hu’akavameilku, is a result, seen from a narrow perspective, of a normal contest for power in Parliament where one side believes that he is no longer fit to govern,” he says.
“From a wider perspective, it is about the increasing use of the VONC tool, which is a relatively new mechanism, to right perceived political wrongs; and from an overarching systemic view, it is about the growing pains of a developing democratic system that currently reflects the ‘normal’ competition between peoples vs nobles, executive vs Parliament, traditional vs contemporary bases of power and so forth, which is played out within a constitutional monarchical system.”
With Tonga heading to the polls in November 2025 the question is, who will get to lead Tonga into the New Year?
And like Christmas gifts, all will be revealed in a matter of days.
