Mood for change ahead of election
Updated
Later this week the Pacific Island Kingdom of Tonga will elect the politicians which will help it steer a new political future. In 2010, Tonga will, for the first time, elect the MP's which will form the island nation's government. Currently the government is appointed by His Majesty King George the Fifth, and serve at his pleasure. But over the next three years a new path will be plotted for Tonga, and the people elected this week will be the ones who will set that path.
Presenter: Pacific Correspondent Campbell Cooney Speakers: Akilisi Pohiva, leader of Tonga's Human Rights and Democracy Movement; Sione Fonua, leader of the Langafonua Tu'uloa Party
COONEY: On Saturday, along Nuku'alofa's waterfront you'll find plenty of stalls offering you everything from vegetables, to backyard BBQ's, to icecream. Beside the wharf is the fishmarket, with everything from Octopus, to Red Emperor to Sea Urchins. But in a few days these people will be deciding which person will be their representative's in the country's parliament. One of them is Tupou.
TUPOA: We need to continue on what they're doing to insist on our change.
COONEY: Make the changes, I believe.
TUPOA: Yeah, make the change.
COONEY: And Tupoa's view, that his countries' parliament needs people who are offering change, is one I've heard from a few people here, including Lada.
LADA: You need change.
COONEY: You need change.
LADA: Yeah, because the government, the ministers like the poor people.
COONEY: Tonga's is one of the world's last constitutional monarchies. But unlike most, where the monarch is the head of state, with no real executive powers, in Tonga, His Majesty King George the fifth, not only reigns, he rules. The island nation's government is hand picked by King George. Nine seats in the parliament are reserved for candidates voted on by Tonga's noble families. The remaining nine are decided by the people. For the past six elections Pro Democracy candidates have held the majority of the seats elected by the people. But the image of the pro democracy movement has been tarnished by the riots in November 2006 which destroyed a large part of Nuku'alofa's shopping district, much of which has yet to be rebuilt. Five of the movement's MP's are still facing charges over their involvement in the riots. One of them is the head of the "People's Committee for Democratic Reform" Akilisi Pohiva.
POHIVA: People are ready, they have been waiting far too long for political reform to be started.
COONEY: This upcoming term, will be the last time Tonga's government, will serve at the pleasure of the King. In 2010, when Tonga next goes to the polls, the people will vote for 17 candidates. The noble families will still have nine seats, and King George is likely to reserve the right to pick four MP's to be part of that government. But the change means the power will be with the people. The fine detail of how this will work, and what changes are made to the Constitution to allow it, will be decided by the members of parliament who are elected this week.
FONUA: This will be the people that draft the Constitution and also do the changing, planning it and ready for the next election, yeah.
COONEY: Sione Tu'itavake Fonua is a Tongan born Auckland based solicitor, who is the head of the "Langafonua Tu'uloa, or "Sustainable Nation Growing" Party. He's moved back to his homeland to try and get into politics, and when I caught up with him he was handing out campaign material at the busy Tofua Fair.
FONUA: The cost of living, the economy is not running pretty well. We relying heavily on funds remitted by the family abroad and we would like to change the farming to commercial farming, like tomatoes, avocado, water melon.
COONEY: Mr Fonua's pushing a more moderate line. He's also putting himself forward as the candidate who will represent Tongans living abroad. It's estimated Tonga's population living in the island nation is 100 thousand. But one figure related to me is that there are at least 150 Tongan citizens living abroad in places like New Zealand, Australia and the USA, and the money they send home is often the only income for many families. Mr Fonua says given their contribution to Tonga's economy, many of them want a say in how the country is governed.
FONUA: They need to have a voice here in Tonga. We will look into getting their voice heard here in Tonga.
