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Tonga - Constitution

Tonga is a constitutional monarchy, with extensive power residing in the monarch. The constitution is essentially King George Tupou I’s constitution granted in 1875.

There is a unicameral Legislative Assembly with limited powers. Nine members are elected on the basis of universal adult suffrage (women received the vote in 1960). Elections for these commoner representatives are held every three years. The nobles of Tonga, 33 in number, elect a further nine members from among themselves. The monarch and the cabinet are members of the Legislative Assembly and the monarch appoints the speaker.

The monarch appoints the cabinet, which consists of the governors of Ha’apai and Vava’u, the prime minister and the ministers of the Crown (who remain in office until they reach the age of retirement). In March 2005, for the first time two commoner and two noble representatives were appointed to cabinet.

All land belongs to the Crown. Large estates have been allotted to nobles. By law, every male Tongan at age 16 is entitled to a small piece of agricultural land and a small town plot. In practice, there is not enough land and the majority of men have not been allocated any land, and latterly there have been objections to the exclusion of women. Consequently, reform of the land tenure system has been under discussion.