Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Tonga pro-democracy MPs to press government to adopt recommendations

Posted at 22:23 on 10 November, 2009 UTC

A Tonga pro-democracy MP says he and his six colleagues will press the Government to adopt, in full, new recommendations on how the country can move towards greater democracy.

The Constitutional and Electoral Commission report calls for a majority of popularly elected MPs and cuts the authority of the King and his Privy Council.

It says the Prime Minister should be elected by the Legislative Assembly and his reduced Cabinet of ten must be drawn from the 26 MPs.

The Number 2 People’s Representative on Tongatapu, Isileli Pulu, says there are elements the democracy supporters are concerned about, such as the recommendation for a single transferable vote.

He says they will appproach the Prime Minister before Parliament sits next week to push for the report be adopted in its entirety.

“We have to rely on the report. We say that before - we all wait for the report and whatever the report says we must and we should go along with it.”