General elections were held in

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

on March 7, 2002, to elect members of the

Legislative Assembly of Tonga The Legislative Assembly of Tonga () is the unicameral legislature of Tonga. 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 ...

. Supporters of the

Human Rights and Democracy Movement The Human Rights and Democracy Movement (HRDM) is a political party in Tonga. Its leader is Uliti Uata. It states its ideology to be democracy, social justice, Anti-corruption, opposition to corruption, and women's rights. The HRDM was founded i ...

(HDRM) won seven of the nine seats for people's representatives.

Voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...

was 48.9%. Following the election, HRDM leader 'Akilisi Pohiva was arrested and charged with

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

over allegations of royal corruption published during the run-up to the election. He was later acquitted by a jury.

References

{{Tongan elections

2002 in Tonga Elections in Tonga March 2002 in Oceania