Vavaʻu Nobles' constituency

Vavaʻu is an electoral constituency which sends two representatives to the Legislative Assembly of Tonga. It covers the eponymous region and island chain.[1]

Vavaʻu Nobles
Constituency
for the Legislative Assembly of Tonga
RegionVavaʻu
Electorate8
Current constituency
Created1914?
Number of members2
Member(s)Lord Tuʻilakepa;
Lord Tuʻiʻafitu

Since its inception in 1875, the Assembly has consisted in representatives of the people and in members of the nobility. Following constitutional reforms in 2010, designed to strengthen democracy in the kingdom, the nobility elect nine representatives, while the people elect seventeen. The nobles' constituency in Vavaʻu thus overlaps with three single-seat peoples' constituencies.[1]

Members of the nobility whose title is attached to lands in the constituency may vote there, and be elected as the constituency's representatives. Nobles do not formally stand as candidates, however, and never belong to any political party. There are eight titles of nobility attached to Vavaʻu: Fakatulolo, Fulivai, Luani, Tuʻiʻafitu, Tuʻilakepa, Tuita, ʻUlukalala, and Veikune. All are currently attributed, giving the constituency a full electorate of eight.[1][2]

History, recent elections and members

The constituency as such did not exist for the first Assembly in 1875. At that time, there were twenty nobles in all the kingdom, and they all sat in the Assembly, along with twenty elected peoples' representatives; the islands of Vavaʻu were associated with four titles of nobility. As the number of titles of nobility was increased by successive monarchs, a constitutional amendment in 1914 provided that the nobles would henceforth elect seven among them to represent them; the number of peoples' representatives was also decreased to seven.[3] The nobles' constituency of Vavaʻu, as such, may have been established at this time.

Records of elections are sparse. In the 1996 general election, the Honourable Fulivai and the Honourable Veikune were elected; there is no further information.[4] Nor is there any information for the 1999, 2002 or 2005 general election results. In the 2008 election, before nobles were restricted to voting only in the constituency associated with their lands, fifteen votes were cast; Honourable Luani and Honourable Tuʻilakepa were elected with three votes each.[5] Lord Luani died in office in May 2010, and it was thus his successor to the title who voted in the November 2010 election.[6] With the number of voters reduced to eight, the electorate was split evenly between two nobles, who were thus both elected.[7][8]

Members of Parliament

Prior to 1996

no information

Since 1996

YearFirst memberFirst partySecond memberSecond party
1996 Lord FulivainoneLord Veikunenone
1999, 2002, 2005 ??
2008 Lord LuaninoneLord Tuʻilakepanone
2010Lord Tuʻiʻafitunone

Election results

2010
Tongan general election, 2010: Vava'u (2 members)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Lord Tuʻilakepa 4 50% +30%
Independent Lord Tuʻiʻafitu 4 50% +36.7%
Majority 4 50%
Majority 4 50%
Lord Tuʻilakepa hold Swing +30%
Lord Tuʻiʻafitu gain from Lord Luani Swing +36.7%

2008
Tongan general election, 2008: Vava'u (2 members)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Lord Luani 3 20%
Independent Lord Tuʻilakepa 3 20%
Independent Lord Fakatulolo 2 13.3%
Independent Lord Fulivai 2 13.3%
Independent Lord Tuita 2 13.3%
Independent Lord Tuʻiʻafitu 2 13.3%
Independent Prince ʻUlukalala 1 6.7%
Majority 1 6.7%
Majority 1 6.7%

References
  1. "Nobles prepare for Elections of district electoral representatives" Archived 2012-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Tongan Ministry of Information, 17 November 2010
  2. "Nobles" Archived 2012-02-06 at the Wayback Machine, government of Tonga
  3. Sione Latukefu (14 July 2008). "The History of the Tongan Constitution". Government of Tonga. Archived from the original on 6 Jan 2010.
  4. Tonga Chronicle Archived 2011-11-30 at the Wayback Machine, February 1996, p.11
  5. "Former Speaker Tu'iha'angana loses seat in Nobles election" Archived 2011-05-27 at the Wayback Machine, Matangi Tonga, 23 April 2008
  6. "Noble Luani dies suddenly in Vava'u", Matangi Tonga, 12 May 2010
  7. "Vaea and Tu'ilakepa to enter House in Nobles seats", Matangi Tonga, 25 November 2010
  8. "Crown Prince not elected as Noble Representative" Archived 2012-03-16 at the Wayback Machine, Taimi Media Network, 1 December 2010
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