At stake in this election:      

• 17 seats in Tonga’s Legislative Assembly (Fale Alea)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King TUPOU VI (since 18 March 2012) *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Lord Siale’ataonga TU’IVAKANO (since 22 December 2010)
• Assembly: Tonga has a unicameral Legislative Assembly (Fale Alea) with 26 seats.

* King George TUPOV V died on 18 March 2012 in Hong Kong. He was succeeded by his brother Crown Prince TUPOUTO’A Lavaka, who took the throne name TUPOU VI.

Description of electoral system:

• The King is hereditary
• The Prime Minister is elected by and from members of parliament and appointed by the monarch.
• Tonga has a unicameral Legislative Assembly (Fale Alea), in which 9 members are elected by hereditary state rulers to serve 4-year terms and 17 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms.

Election Note:

On Thursday 27 November 2014, Tonga will hold an election for the Legislative Assembly (Fale Alea).

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party:  Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands / Paati Temokalati 'a e 'Otu Motu 'Anga'ofa
  • Leader: Samuela 'Akilisi POHIVA; Seats in last election: 12.
• Party: Independents
  • Leader: N/A; Seats in last election: 5.
• Party: People's Democratic Party (PDP)
  • Leader: N/A; Seats in last election: N/A.
• Party: Sustainable Nation-Building Party / Paati Langafonua Tu'uloa
  • Leader: Sione FONUA; Seats in last election: N/A.
• Party: Tonga Democratic Labour Party
  • Leader: N/A; Seats in last election: N/A.

Last election:

• The last election to the Legislative Assembly (Fale Alea) in Tonga was held on 25 November 2010.[i] Turnout was 90.85 percent and 38,516 of 42,395 people casted ballots.[ii] The Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands won 10,953 votes or 28.49 percent, but with appointed seats, the party won a total of 12 seats.[iii] Independents won 25,873 votes or 67.30 percent of the vote, but won only 5 seats.[iv]

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 106,440 (July 2014 est)[v]
• Registered Voters: 42,395 (November 2010)[vi]

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 53,041 (July 2014 est)[i]
• Is Tonga a signatory to CEDAW: N/A[ii]
• Has Tonga ratified CEDAW: N/A[iii]
• Gender Quota: No.[iv]
• Female Candidates in this election: 11[v]
• Number of Female Legislators: 1 (3.6%) of 26 seats in Tonga’s unicameral Legislative Assembly (Fale Alea).[vi]
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 100[vii]
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Ranking: Not Ranked (latest rankings are from 2012)[viii]