Tonga’s Politics Takes An Ugly Turn

Mateni Tapueluelu, Tonga’s Police Minister, has threatened to impeach Lord Tu’iIakepa, the Acting Speaker. This was after Tu’iIakepa announced that the government is trying to push through six bills ‘under urgency’ and would first go through the House’s Standing Committee on Legislation. The Acting Speaker responded to the impeachment threat as ‘you take legal action if you want to’.

The parliament has also witnessed walkout by the opposition in the past week as Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva failed to explain the ‘urgency’ of the bills. King Tupou VI has been presented with a series of petitions seeking the parliament to be dissolved.