The post The Prime Minister Series: The Constitution and the Prime Minister appeared first on New Politics.
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Tonga’s Parliament has elected a new prime minister to replace Dr Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa.
Siaosi Sovaleni, 51, the current Minister of Education, has won convincingly with 16 votes, against former Minister of Finance and MP Dr ‘Aisake Eke, who got 10 votes.
The Interim Speaker, Lord Tangi, announced the results this afternoon after he first informed King Tupou VI about the winner.
The results showed what appeared to be the nobility MPs’ votes being split with apparently four of them supporting Sovaleni while the remaining five voted for Dr Eke.
Sovaleni, who was a minister in good standing in the Tu’i’onetoa government, recently crossed the floor to form his new bloc and gain the support from a united group of independent MPs and PTOA Party MPs.
Three other MPs who were part of Tu’i’onetoa’s PAK party, also crossed the floor and joined Sovaleni.
The only People’s MP and interim cabinet minister who supported Dr Tu’i’onetoa was the Niua MP Vātau Hui.
The defection of the four members meant Dr Tu’i’onetoa was forced to withdraw his candidacy for the premiership election because he did not have the number of MPs required by law to support and nominate him as a candidate.
As Kaniva News reported this week, Dr Tu’i’onetoa complained about being dumped by his own interim cabinet ministers, saying he just found out after the general elections on November 18 that his unity with his interim ministers in the past four months had been “fake”.
Education, health and climate among priorities
In his speech before the election today, Sovaleni said people, the chiefs and the king lived under what he described as one house. He said people had to learn to know how to live together.He said education, health, economic developments, e-government, climate change, war on illicit drugs, natural disasters, youths and women initiatives and good governance were some of his priorities.
In his vote of thanks after he was declared the winner this afternoon, Sovaleni was emotional and congratulated his supporters and all MPs.
He also thanked his unsuccessful rival candidate Dr Eke and said they had previously worked together in the Ministry of Finance.
Republished with permission as part of a collaboration between Kaniva News and Asia Pacific Report.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
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By Lanuola Tusani Tupufia-Ah Tong in Apia
Samoa’s Court of Appeal ruled today that the Faatuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party was the country’s new government bringing three months of political stalemate to a close.
The court, the highest in the country, found that a swearing-in ceremony conducted by the party on the lawns of Parliament on May 24 was in fact legally binding, immediately installing FAST as the nation’s new government and declaring it had been so for nearly two months.
The decision apparently brings to an end the 22-year reign of Tuila’epa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi as the nation’s Prime Minister.
Under the court order he will be succeeded by Samoa’s first female Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa.
In their conclusion, the Court of Appeal said to avoid doubt Samoa has had a lawful government since May 24, namely that led by the FAST party.
The decision also ends nearly four decades of uninterrupted political dominance by the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which first won government in 1982.
Fiame is a former member of Tuila’epa’s government and Deputy Prime Minister who quit the ruling party last September over what she said were plans to dismantle the rule of law in the form of three bills that were passed into law in December.
Widespread criticism
The bills drew widespread criticism for their effect on the independence of the courts from legal experts and the nation’s judges.Fiame led the newly created FAST party to a slender one-seat victory 26-25 following the holding of April 9 national elections.
The impromptu swearing-in was held on May 24 — the last day on which Parliament was obliged to meet after a national election according to a stipulation in the nation’s constitution.
That ceremony, which was boycotted by HRPP members and the Head of State, was conducted before a majority of FAST Members of Parliament and followed a Supreme Court order the day prior ruling that must Parliament convene.
But the ceremony was held outside the Legislative Assembly building after the former Speaker of the Parliament, Leaupepe Toleafoa Faafis, ordered that it be locked down.
While the swearing-in was previously struck down by the Supreme Court, the FAST party argued that it needed to be held out of the “principle of necessity”, namely to stop the breach of that constitutional requirement.
The Chief Justice, Satiu Simativa Perese, alongside Justice Niava Mata Tuatagaloa and Justice Tafaoimalo Leilani Tuala-Warren delivered the decision at 4.30 pm this afternoon.
Legal challenges
Since then the swearing-in HRPP’s numbers on the floor of of Parliament has fallen by seven to reach 18 following successful seat-by-seat post-election legal challenges to its election victories that will result in fresh byelection contests.The HRPP and the Head of State have ignored decisions instructing them to convene Parliament that they could not do so until all Members of Parliament were represented in the Legislative Assembly, particularly women MPs who are required to make up 10 percent of all legislators under a constitutional mandate.
The panel of justices said it did not recognise the caretaker government being legitimate and said it was unlawfully occupying office.
The court also ruled that the role of the Head of State in swearing-in the Speaker and members of the FAST are ceremonial roles to administer the swearing-in where the oath is to the Almighty God.
The appeal from the Attorney-General’s Office was dismissed and the cross appeal from the FAST party upheld.
The question of whether the courts have the legal right to force Parliament to sit in cases where the constitution had been violated, or whether that power was exclusively vested in the Head of State, lay at the heart of the case, which was held last week.
In that hearing, arguing on behalf of the Samoa Law Society, New Zealand QC Robert Lithgow said something had stood in the way of the Legislative Assembly convening despite the court’s clear power to force Parliament to sit within a day.
Constitution’s ‘higher purpose’
He said the constitution, as the supreme law of the land, could not be “bolted” down by interested parties but it had a broader, higher purpose: protecting the central interests of the Samoan people as expressed by them in their recent election.Friday’s decision came as a surprise to parties involved in the case, who had previously been under the impression that a decision would not be handed down until Monday next week.
A notification that a decision on the matter had been reached was only sent to involved parties at about five minutes past 4 pm this afternoon with the decision handed down shortly after at about 4.30 pm.
The HRPP was added as a party to the Supreme Court case but no comment has yet been made by Tuila’epa or any of its other representatives.
In late May, Tuila’epa promised to abide by any ruling by Samoa’s highest court on the issue of the validity of the swearing-in.
Lanuola Tusani Tupufia-Ah Tong is a Samoa Observer journalist. Republished with permission.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Samoa’s Prime Minister-elect says she does not think the accusation of treason by the incumbent leader holds sway and suggested he his having a hard time letting go of power.
Samoa’s Attorney-General has filed a complaint with the Supreme Court, claiming yesterday’s ad-hoc swearing in of the FAST party MPs was unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court heard it for mention this afternoon, and set down a hearing for Thursday at noon.
- LISTEN TO RNZ MORNING REPORT: ‘I think since events yesterday we expect something to come from the courts and the judiciary” – FAST party spokesman Apulu Lance Polu
- READ MORE: FAST heading back to court to try and resolve political impasse in Samoa
- Other Samoan political crisis reports on Asia Pacific Report
- RNZ’s live updates
- The Pacific Newsroom’s updates
- The Samoa Observer editorial today – Swearing-in strengthens nation’s foundation
The Attorney-General named the FAST party leader, Prime Minister-elect Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, all of the party’s MPs and their lawyers as respondents.
In a statement last night threatening action, the Attorney-General’s Office said those who had conducted the ad-hoc swearing in ceremony held yesterday afternoon had no legal authority.
But today, FAST was maintaining that it is now the government – it has a majority, and was forced to act by the Head of State and parliamentary officials’ defying orders by the Supreme Court.
Incumbent Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sailele Malielegaoi was not backing down either, today again calling the FAST party’s actions a coup.
FAST barred from Parliament
FAST had been barred from entering the Parliament building after Tuila’epa, who has been Prime Minister for 23 years and leader of the defeated Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which had been in power for about four decades, directed the Speaker to lock the doors.Under the constitution, Parliament must sit within 45 days of an election and yesterday was the last day for this to be possible.
Fiame spoke to RNZ Pacific’s Don Wiseman this evening and said she did not think the accusation of treason, made by Tuila’epa yesterday, was a serious one.
“You might have recalled at the last Parliament he was throwing those threats at the four of us. We were the sole opposition in the House,” she said.
“Treason, it’s very well defined. It has a lot to do with killing people or plotting to kill people, having full frontal physical attacks. It’s nothing like that.
“So I think he just likes to stoke the fire and throw in big words like treason. I don’t think that [his accusation] is very serious.
Incumbent Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sailele Malielegaoi … not backing down, today again calling the FAST party’s actions “a coup”. Image: APR screenshot Tuila’epa today suggested the judiciary had a bias towards Fiame, partly due to a family relation. Fiame said he “needs to get a grip.”
“It’s not a matter of bias. It’s a matter of the merit of the issues and the cases brought before the court.”
Bad legal advice
She suggested Tuila’epa was either getting bad legal advice or having lawyers tell him what he wanted to hear.“Unfortunately, the lawyers are people in their official capacities, they’re not private lawyers for the HRPP.
“They’re sort of running the show for him. In fact if there’s anything more concerning for me, it’s that these public officials are not able to play their role and functions in an independent and impartial way. They’re just toeing the line.”
Fiame said Tuila’epa was getting to the end of a long career and suggested he was having trouble letting go.
“The thing that really happened, first and foremost, is that he was getting to that point in that long and distinguished career where he thought he was, you know, omnipotent and could now do whatever he liked. Now, he’s gone from being ‘chosen by God‘ to setting himself up as very god-like.
“The second thing, I think, was that before the election he was making predictions of having another landslide victory. So when the results came out I think that was quite a dire shock for him.”
A “thank you” ceremony in Apia today for the supporters of the FAST party. Image: APR screenshot On where the situation with the Parliament is at now, Fiame pointed out that HRPP MPs also faced a conundrum.
Issue of 25 HRPP MPs
“So I would imagine that if things return to normality, whether there is a formal recognition of that process, and just transferred into the records of parliament, or whether we have another… because of course the other issue is what happens to the other 25 HRPP MPs? Are they in fact invalid or now voided by the fact that they weren’t sworn in by the deadline. So that’s another issue that’s in abeyance.”Fiame and two other members of the majority party appeared in court in Apia this morning where they pled not guilty to a private prosecution brought by Tuila’epa.
The legality of yesterday’s ceremony is still in question but a legal expert today told RNZ that FAST did not carry out a “coup”.
“Rather, they acted in a way which was necessary to prevent one,” Fuimaono Dylan Asafo wrote.
“By refusing to attend the first meeting of the new Parliament, it was the Head of State who first and foremost breached the relevant constitutional procedures and any relevant standing orders.”
Samoa government building, Apia. Image: Johnny Blades/RNZ Prayers for peace
The Pacific Conference of Churches this morning called on its member churches around the region to pray for peace and justice to prevail in Samoa, with general secretary Reverend James Bhagwan saying the situation was quite concerning.“Particularly the to and fro between the political parties,” he said.
“I am not a political commentator in any way but we can see there is a need for this to be resolved and we hope that that can be done in a manner that finds resonance with the people of Samoa.”
New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs today issued a statement calling on all parties to uphold the rule of law and respect the democratic process.
“We are willing to offer support to Samoa should that be useful during this complex period,” it said.
However, MFAT declined to answer a direct question about whether it recognised yesterday’s swearing-in ceremony as legal and official.
NZ faith in Samoan democracy
It would only say New Zealand “respects Samoa’s sovereignty and the mana of its democratic institutions, including the courts which have an important democratic and constitutional role” and that it recognised the “combined wisdom and experience of traditional and church leaders who will want to see a peaceful outcome”.New Zealand “looked forward to working with a democratically elected” government, said the statement.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she had not spoken to the leader of either party since the election.
“We’ve joined with many others in just restating our faith in Samoa’s democracy,” Ardern said.
“It falls upon those within Samoa to demonstrate their faith in their own democracy too.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was looking forward to working with a democratically elected government of Samoa.
Pacific Islands Forum ready to help, says Puna
The Pacific Islands Forum is urging all parties in Samoa to find a peaceful resolution to the current deadlock.Its incoming Secretary-General Henry Puna said forum members were closely following events in Samoa, and the group was willing to offer support and step in to help if asked.
Puna, who is the former Cook Islands prime minister, also called for a moment of reflection and solidarity across the Forum for the people of Samoa, where post-election events were making global headlines.
“I ask each of us across our member nations to keep the people of Samoa in our thoughts and prayers at this time, knowing that Samoa’s sovereign process and the world-renowned Fa’a Samoa will prevail at this critical moment in their history.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
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Former PM Sir Mekere Morauta … as Papua New Guineans come to grips with the void left by his death on December 19, the impact of his decisions at the turn of this century will continue to be felt decades into the future. Image: Loop PNG
OBITUARY: By Scott Waide in Lae
For many Papua New Guineans, Sir Mekere Morauta will be remembered as the straight shooting politician and the reformist Prime Minister, whose work came to be appreciated more than a decade later.
Up until the 1990s, Mekere Morauta’s public life was rather low key.
He thrived behind the scenes, helping to develop, shape and implement important government policies.
He was the first graduate in economics from the University of Papua New Guinea and with it came important responsibilities both for his people and the country.
In 1971, he began a career in the public service as a research officer with the department of Labour. A year later, he took up a job as economist in the Office of Economic advisor.
When Papua New Guinea became self-governing in 1973, the government of Chief Minister Michael Somare sought out its best and brightest to help run the young democracy.
At 27, Mekere Morauta was thrust into a position of power and responsibility with his appointment as Secretary for Finance – a post he held for nine years.
Important influencer
He was always an important influencer in the banking and financial sector of Papua New Guinea.In 1983, he was appointed managing director of the Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation. He held the position for another 9 years until his upward transition to a new job as the Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea.
It was during this short stint as the central bank Governor that he shot to prominence as an outspoken enemy of the corruption that was infecting PNG government institutions.
Sir Julius Chan was Prime Minister then and in a foreign documentary about corruption in Papua New Guinea, Mekere Morouta spoke out describing the rampant corruption and “systemic and systematic.”
He was removed one year into the job.
Scott Waide reflects on his association with Sir Mekere Morauta, former #PNG prime minister who died earlier this week. “The ease with which Sir Mek explained economic theory brought it to life. He was a guru, a brilliantly articulate economist politician” https://t.co/XAhDvtyTdM
— Keith Jackson AM (@PNGAttitude) December 25, 2020
The period from 1994 to 1997 was politically turbulent.
The international attention on government institutions and the corruption highlighted by key figures in Papua New Guinea, including Sir Mekere, caused many Papua New Guineans to demand a change in leadership and management.
The seeds had already been planted.
South African mercenaries
In 1997, when the government of Sir Julius Chan opted to bring in South African mercenaries to end the Bougainville crisis, PNGDF commander Brigadier-General Jerry Singirok called for the prime minister to step down and riots broke out.It was months before the elections and when Sir Julius was voted out of office, a new group of political leaders, including Sir Mekere Morouta were voted in.
For the next three years, the country faced deep economic trouble.
The decade long closure of the Bougainville mine, a severe drought and high unemployment and government institutions in desperate need for reform… this was the scenario in 1999 when Sir Mekere took over from Bill Skate as prime minister.
In the next three years, Sir Mekere had the most impact on Papua New Guinea’s political and economic future.
In 2000, the Mekere government introduced sweeping reforms in the finance and banking sector. He introduced legislative reforms that strengthened the superannuation funds and banks, effectively eliminating much of the political interference that these institutions had long been burdened with.
Through the reforms, Nasfund and other superfunds which were on the brink of collapse, were revived and strengthened
In the political sphere, constitutional changes were made to strengthen political parties and other institutions of state.
As Papua New Guineans come to grips with the void left by Sir Mekere’s passing on December 19, the impact of his decisions at the turn of this century will continue to be felt decades into the future.
Scott Waide is a leading Papua New Guinean journalist and a senior editor with a national television network. He writes a personal blog, My Land, My Country. Asia Pacific Report republishes his articles with permission.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
