Page 24 - IB OCT 2017

Politics Unfair earnings 10 All Blacks equals Welfare alarm Island players form
group to air grievances P32
one Fijian player P31

From Page 23
Clause 38 of the Constitution of Tonga
(Cap 2) sets out the King’s relations with
Parliament. While Clause 77covers the
frequency of General Elections, and the
King’s power to dissolve parliament.
(Amended in 2010):
Clause 38
The King may convoke the Legislative
Assembly at any time and may dissolve
it at his pleasure and command that new
representatives of the nobles and people
be elected to enter the assembly. But it
shall not be lawful for the Kingdom to re-
main without a meeting of the Assembly
for a longer period than one year. The As-
sembly shall always meet at Nuku’alofa
and at no other place except in time of
war. (Law No. 1 of 1914.) Constitution
1988 edn.
Clause 77(2) General elections
1. (1) Elections shall ordinarily
be held for all the representatives of the
nobles and the people every four years,
and if not earlier dissolved the Legislative
Assembly shall stand dissolved at the
expiration of four years from the date of
the last general election.
2. (2) It shall be lawful for the
King, at his pleasure, to dissolve the
Legislative Assembly at any time and
command that new elections be held.
(3) If the Legislative Assembly is dis-
solved by the King or by the operation
of sub-clause (1), the King shall, after
consultation with the Speaker of the Leg-
islative Assembly, fix a date for a general
election. (2010)
Issues

Lord Tu’ivakano, who had served as
Prime Minister up to 2014, said it was
apparent to him that Mr Pohiva’s govern-
ment was working against the rule of law
and the Constitution of the Kingdom of
Tonga with some of their decisions.
He said Pohiva and his Cabinet had
made some decisions that questioned the
check and balances of this vested powers.
• Lord Tu’ivakano said he be-
came increasingly concerned by certain
decisions of Cabinet that appeared to
disregard the rule of law and the check
and balances of democracy that was made
inherent in the Constitution.
• He said one was the key issues
was the move by the Pohiva-led Govern-
ment to destroy the king’s right of royal
ascent.
This was exercised by the late King
Tupou IV when he did not want to grant

24 Islands Business, October 2017