| Interview: NOBLE LUANI |
Chairman, Tonga Parliamentary Tripartite Committee For Political Reforms
Samisoni Pareti
King Backs Transfer Of Power To The People
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Noble Luani, chair of the political reforms committee.
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The Pacific’s sole surviving monarchy is in for a revolutionary political change which may soon see the transfer of power from the king to the people.
This ground-breaking change is in the report of a nine-member committee of Tonga’s Legislature headed by a member of the kingdom’s aristocracy, Noble Luani.
Key point in the Luani Committee report is the new make-up of Tonga’s legislature. The committee has recommended that the King’s representatives in the House be reduced from the current 12 to only four members.
Representatives of the peoples, on the other hand, will get their numbers boosted from the current nine to 17. Nobles will maintain their representatives at nine if the Luani Committee recommendation is adopted by both the legislature as well as the people of Tonga.
In a telephone interview with Noble Luani last month, the Tongan legislature made two key points.
First: The committee’s recommendations had been “agreed to in principle” by the committee members which include three noble representatives as well as three ministers in His Majesty’s cabinet.
The Second: The recommendations are in line with the expressed wishes of King George Tupou V.
Noble Luani is acutely aware of the revolutionary nature of their recommendations.
Being a member of the powerful and generally wealthy aristocracy, he knows that their recommendations may change all that.
Towards the end of the interview, Noble Luani was choked with emotions.
The message for the people of Tonga—whether living in the Kingdom or overseas—he says should be the same as the country’s motto: God and Tonga are my inheritance!
What is the make-up of your committee?
“There are three Noble representatives, three from the People’s representatives and three from Government. For the nobles, there’s Hon Tu’ipelehake, Hon Tu’ilakepa and myself. The People’s reps are ‘Akilisi Pohiva, Clive Edwards and ‘Uliti Uata. The government reps are deputy Prime Minister Dr Viliami Tangi, Minister for Justice, ‘Alisi Taumoepeau and also the Minister for Youth, Sports & Culture, Noble Tu’ivakano.”
Since the release of your report, what is your committee doing now?
“We are tying up loose ends with regards to some pending issues. It’s about the composition of the House, the voting system, the duration of service for a member of parliament, also the year of implementation of the political reforms, and the number of cabinet ministers. There are many other issues we have not touched upon, but all these are imperative to our line of work with regards to political reforms.”
And your committee has recommended a new make-up of the House?
“The composition is as follows: 17 seats for the People, 9 seats for Nobles and 4 seats for His Majesty.”
But the committee has not endorsed the entire report per se, only agreeing to it in principle?
“That is the case, yes and you have to remember that we have 131 years with the existing system and you can imagine the amount of work we have to conduct under the umbrella of political reforms. It is a major change. For example, the composition of the House as I have mentioned before, it is the first time in our history that the majority [in the House] now rests with the people. That is not only a historical move but a very radical move in itself.”
Being a Noble yourself, it must have been hard accepting and also recommending those radical changes?
“Yes it was. But it was finally agreed upon by all the members. What helped the committee was this was all supported by His Majesty.”
Is that so, that your committee received communications from the Palace that His Majesty is supporting your recommendations?
“Yes, he supports this whole idea of passing on the authority of the House to the people.”
What has been the reaction so far from the Government of Prime Minister Dr Fred Sevele on your recommendations?
“I think we have the support of everybody, particularly the people and government. I think everybody is happy with the number. But remember, the committee is one hurdle only. Then it is submitted to the House, and then from the House we must go out to the people and try and educate them on the reforms. Also at the same time, we should get their feedback. So I cannot say at this point in time that what the committee has endorsed is the one and only political reform. It’s a collective thing, to make sure that everybody has a say in the future of our country.”
You have asked for one month’s extension from parliament, what’s next?
“We will go to parliament for endorsement. There will be a lot of debate, how long I cannot say. But we must, after the House, go to the people.”
There was also some thought of deferring next year’s elections because of the need to bring these reforms into line?
“That is correct. You must understand that if we decide upon a date, it will defeat the purpose of what the committee is doing. The idea is that we must consider the amount of work required before we can determine the date. Because as an example, one of the proposals is that elections be held in districts. Now if you look at the districts themselves, it will require boundaries being drawn up, it requires what voting system to be used; it requires the population of each district. As you know, population is different for each district. Like the island of Niua, there are 200 people, now does that qualify them to have a representative in parliament? Or is that too small? These are things [we need to consider] not to mention the legal and also the constitutional requirements. It will not take just one year. It will probably take one or two years to complete.”
What really is the principle behind your recommendations, because it basically means if adopted, His Majesty and you the nobles are surrendering power to the people?
“Yes, and as you know there have been a lot of pro-democracy people expressing the need for more democracy in our country. The idea of having a district system of elections is that it will give each district a voice in the politics of our country.
But being a noble yourself, aren’t you recommending something that may not be in your interest and that of His Majesty?
Yes, but I think we will have to compromise here. We are coming into a new era and we have to give serious consideration as to what our people want from government and how they see their future. If we disregard our authority, our position, our status and focus on the people, I think we will be going in the right direction.”
What has been the response from your own peers, the nobles of Tonga?
“We have had several meetings among ourselves and we understand the consequences. For peace and harmony and what is for the common good of our country, why not?”
How much of an influence did the riots of November 2006 had on the recommendations of your committee?
“Let me tell you this...the reforms were already in motion before 16/11 [riots]. If you remember, there was a report by the late Prince Tuipelehake and also the appointment of the Prime Minister as the first commoner cabinet prime minister of our country. These were all done before 16/11. So I’m saying that these were pre-empted before. But what happened in 16/11 also prompted us to take action because we didn’t want to see a repetition.”
In recommending such radical changes which will see the transfer of power from the monarch to the people, what message you hope will the people of Tonga, both those living in the country and those living overseas —take from this?
“To them, the message is remember what is written in our motto: God and Tonga are my inheritance. That is the only hope for us. We need prayers for stability and peace. If our whole nation comes together, the power of prayer is a very strong thing. That is where peace comes from. That is where His Majesty, the nobles and the people become one."
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