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The Legislative Assembly of Tonga ( to, Fale Alea ʻo Tonga) is the unicameral legislature of
Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
. The assembly has 26 members in which 17 members elected by majority of the people for a 5-year term in multi-seat constituencies via the
single non-transferable vote Single non-transferable vote or SNTV is an electoral system used to elect multiple winners. It is a generalization of first-past-the-post, applied to multi-member districts with each voter casting just one vote. Unlike FPTP, which is a single-win ...
system. There are 9 members elected by the 33 hereditary nobles of Tonga. The Assembly is controlled by the speaker of the House who is elected by majority of the elected members of Parliament and constitutionally appointed by the
king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
.


History

A Legislative Assembly providing for representation of nobles and commoners was established in 1862 by King George Tupou I. This body met every four years and was continued in the 1875 Constitution. Originally the Legislative Assembly consisted of all holders of noble titles, an equal number of people's representatives, the governors for Ha’apai and Vava’u, and at least four Cabinet Ministers chosen by the
monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
. An increase in the number of nobles from twenty to thirty saw the Assembly grow to 70 members. Amendments in 1914 saw a reduction in the size of the Assembly and annual sittings. The principle of equal representation of nobles and commoners was retained. In April 2010 the Legislative Assembly enacted a package of political reforms, increasing the number of people's representatives from nine to seventeen, with ten seats for
Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the nation ...
, three for Vava’u, two for Ha’apai and one each for Niuas and 'Eua. The 100-year-old Tongan Parliament House was destroyed by Cyclone Gita, a Category 4 tropical cyclone that passed through the nation on 12 and 13 February 2018. Parliament subsequently moved to the Tongan National Centre complex in Tofoa. In November 2021 the Tongan government announced that a new parliament building would be constructed on Nuku'alofa's waterfront.


Electoral system

The parliament has 17 constituencies.


Speaker of the Assembly

The Legislative Assembly is presided over by a Speaker, who is elected by the MPs at the first meeting of elected members after the general election. Prior to 2010, the Speaker was appointed by the monarch. A complete list of the Speakers is below:


Terms of the Tongan Legislative Assembly

Until 2010, the government was appointed by the monarch without reference to Parliament, and there were no political parties. The last term under the old system was the
2008 Tongan Legislative Assembly The 2008 Tongan Legislative Assembly is the previous term of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga. Its composition was determined by the 2008 Tongan general election, 2008 elections, held on April 23 and 24, 2008. It served until 2010, when 2010 Ton ...
. Political reform in 2010 saw the Prime Minister elected by Parliament from among its members, leading to
responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...
.


Officers

Clerk (''Kalae Pule Falealea 'o Tonga'') *Sione Tekiteki (2011–2012) *Gloria Pole'o (2012–present)


See also

* Politics of Tonga *
List of legislatures by country This is a list of legislatures by country. A " legislature" is the generic name for the national parliaments and congresses that act as a plenary general assembly of representatives and that have the power to legislate. All entities included ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control
Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
Politics of Tonga Political organisations based in Tonga Government of Tonga
Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
1862 establishments in Tonga