Left to right: Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni , Dr 'Aisake Eke, Lord Fakafanua, Dr Taniela Fusimalohi Photo: RNZ Pacific / Lydia Lewis / Teuila Fuatai / Tonga Government
Almost two weeks after Tonga's general election, four MPs are being floated as potential candidates for prime minister. On Monday, the 26 elected representatives were invited to put forward their choice of prime minister.
The newly appointed interim Speaker of the Legislative Assembly (parliament) Lord Tangi 'o Vao-nuko-nuka has invited MPs to submit their nominations for Prime Minister-designate before 4:30pm on Friday.
A meeting has been scheduled for Monday, 15 December, where Lord Tangi has advised representatives that a prime minister will be elected.
Tonga's prime minister is decided by the 26 elected representatives - 17 people's representatives and nine nobles' representatives. They vote for the position by secret ballot, which must be won by a majority.
The successful candidate then nominates a cabinet for approval and appointment by the King.
Under the constitution, the vote will be repeated if no one gains a majority, with the candidate who wins the least number of votes eliminated from the next round.
Here are the contenders for the top job in the kingdom:
Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni
The Tongatapu 3 representative whose rift with the palace reportedly led to the premature end of his tenure as prime minister in December 2024. Hu'akavameiliku, 55, has been a fixture in Tonga's legislative assembly for the past decade after working in the government's Finance and Public Enterprises departments - the latter of which he headed as chief executive.
Prior to that, he also worked at several regional organisations, including the Asia Development Bank and the Pacific Community (SPC).
Hu'akavameiliku is part of the increasingly divided pro-democracy contingent of parliament. He was elected to parliament in 2014 and held the position of deputy prime minister under then prime minister and democracy movement leader 'Akilisi Pohiva.
Just three years later, Hu'akavameiliku was sacked by Pohiva for reportedly trying to undermine the government - which was then brought to an abrupt end when King Tupou VI dissolved parliament and called for an early election in 2017, a year before it was due.
Both Pohiva and Hu'akavameiliku survived the early election, and while Pohiva returned as prime minister, unsurprisingly, Hu'akavameiliku was not returned to Cabinet. He made his way back to the main decision-making table under Prime Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa, who took over from Pohiva when he died while still in office in 2019.
The next election in 2021 saw Hu'akavameiliku win the position of prime minister after securing a majority of votes from his fellow elected representatives following polling day. His main rival at the time was Dr 'Aisake Eke, who also had the outgoing prime minister's backing at the time.
Dr 'Aisake Eke
With less than a year in the top job, Eke, 64, appears to be facing off against his long-standing rival Hu'akavameiliku for the top role again.
Of the elected representatives from Eke's outgoing Cabinet, all but two have returned, which means the caretaker prime minister has at least four returning allies around him in the legislative assembly.
However, one of those returning members - Dr Taniela Fusimalohi - is also considered an outside contender for the role of prime minister.
Alongside that, seven new people's representatives will now be sitting in parliament - with an eighth member - Semisi Sika - returning after reclaiming his Tongatapu 2 constituency which he lost in 2021.
Kalafi Moala, RNZ Pacific's Tonga correspondent, believes Eke may be on the backfoot in negotiations for the role of prime minister, commenting in an analysis in Talonoa 'O Tonga that he had trouble uniting his own cabinet while in government.
That cabinet also had four ministers appointed to it from outside parliament, which is permitted under the constitution. Crown Prince Tupouto'a Ulukalala held the defence and foreign affairs portfolios in Eke's government under the mechanism.
Eke has been part of Tonga's political landscape since the 2010 election when he first won the seat for his Tongatapu 5 constituency. He has retained the seat in all elections apart from 2017, when he lost it following instability in the 'Akilisi Pohiva government, which both he and Hu'akavameiliku were part of.
Eke held the finance portfolio in Pohiva's government until he resigned after abstaining from a vote-of-no-confidence in the administration. He'd also held the portfolio under the previous government, which had been led by nobles representative Lord Tu'ivakano.
Prior to entering politics, Eke was a career public servant, with nearly two decades working in the government's finance and planning ministry.
Lord Fakafanua
Fakafanua, 40, is one of two nobles' representatives for Vava'u. Overall, the nobles representatives have nine seats in Tonga's legislative assembly, while the people's representatives have 17.
At just 40 years of age, he is among Tonga's younger parliamentarians. He entered parliament at age 24, and at 27 was elected speaker - the youngest ever to hold the position.
Fakafanua is a member of the Tonga's royal family through his mother - who was a granddaughter of the beloved Queen Salote III - and has noble lineage through his father. His sister is also married to the Crown Prince. He is also the president of Tonga Rugby League.
Many Tongans - both in-country and among the diaspora - believe Fakafanua has shown a lot of maturity as parliament speaker. His performance means he's backed by many to be a good prime minister should he be given the opportunity to lead.
However, that premise must be balanced alongside fears that the executive powers of the country are swinging back towards the nobility and monarch.
A noble representative as prime minister, like Fakafanua, would also be seen by some as a regression for Tonga's democracy as the leader of the government would not be a commoner or people's representative.
It also goes against the constitutional changes ushered in under the late King George V, who handed back political rule to parliament about 19 years ago.
Dr Taniela Fusimalohi
Fusimalohi was deputy prime minister in Eke's cabinet. He held a range of portfolios, including infrastructure and energy for the government's short tenure.
Fusimalohi entered politics in 2021, winning his seat in the legislative assembly as the people's representative for the 'Eua constituency. He is a former director of education.
Prior to being elected to parliament, he served in various roles in the Tongan public service, beginning his career as a civil servant in 1987.
