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General elections were held in Tuvalu on 3 August 2006 to elect fifteen members to the Parliament. There were 5,765 eligible voters on the electoral roll. [1] 32 candidates, including 2 women, competed for the 15 seats (the parliament had been increased from 12 to 15 elected members). All fifteen candidates elected were Independents, as there are no political parties in the country. [2]
The years before the election had involved an uncertain economic situation with questions about the political stability with frequent changes of prime minister. There had also been questions about the integrity of some government ministers. [1]
The election saw eight of the fifteen incumbent MPs defeated, including the entire cabinet of the incumbent Prime Minister Maatia Toafa (who did retain his seat). [2] Eight new members were elected to the parliament. [2] The new members of parliament are predominantly experienced civil servants, including Taukelina Finikaso (former diplomat); Iakoba Italeli (former attorney general); Lotoala Metia (former auditor general); Namoliki Sualiki (former school principal); Willy Telavi (former police commissioner); and Falesa Pitoi (dentist). [1]
Apisai Ielemia was elected the prime minister. [3]
Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Funafuti | Kamuta Latasi | 352 | 45.8 | Re-elected |
Kausea Natano | 340 | 44.4 | Re-elected | |
Emily Koepeke Lauti | 39 | 5.0 | ||
Iosefa Elisala | 37 | 4.8 | ||
Nanumaga | Falesa Pitoi | 335 | 39.0 | Elected |
Otinielu Tausi | 300 | 35.0 | Re-elected | |
Halo Tuavai | 222 | 26.0 | ||
Nanumea | Maatia Toafa | 397 | 28.6 | Re-elected |
Willy Telavi | 422 | 30.5 | Elected | |
Kokea Malua | 298 | 21.5 | Unseated | |
Annie Homasi | 234 | 16.8 | ||
Langitupu Tuilimu | 36 | 2.6 | ||
Niutao | Tomu Sione | 416 | 33.0 | Elected |
Tavau Teii | 373 | 29.0 | Re-elected | |
Samuelu Teo | 318 | 25.0 | ||
Iopu Iupasi Kaisala | 169 | 13.0 | ||
Nui | Iakoba Italeli | 281 | 31.0 | Elected |
Alesana Seluka | 220 | 24.3 | Elected | |
Taom Tanukale | 212 | 23.4 | ||
Pakai Asaia | 192 | 21.2 | ||
Nukufetau | Lotoala Metia | 507 | 37.5 | Elected |
Elisala Pita | 430 | 31.8 | Elected | |
Saufatu Sopoanga | 414 | 30.6 | ||
Nukulaelae | Namoliki Sualiki | 109 | 42.1 | Elected |
Bikenibeu Paeniu | 65 | 25.1 | Unseated | |
Vaefitu Luke Paeniu | 64 | 24.7 | ||
Iefata Paeniu | 21 | 8.1 | ||
Vaitupu | Apisai Ielemia | 336 | 34.2 | Re-elected |
Taukelina Finikaso | 247 | 25.2 | Elected | |
Matanile Iosefa | 224 | 22.8 | ||
Eti Esela | 173 | 17.6 | ||
Leti Pelesala | 2 | 0.2 | Unseated | |
Source: Hassall, Psephos |
On 14 August 2006 Apisai Ielemia was elected as prime minister; he had been a diplomat, clerk to parliament and senior civil servant. [3] Kamuta Latasi was appointed the Speaker of the parliament. [2] The new government sworn in by Governor General, Reverend Filoimea Telito on 14 August comprised Apisai Ielemia as Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs; Tavau Teii (Niutao) Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources; Willy Telavi (Nanumea) Home Affairs; Lotoala Metia (Nukufetau) Finance, Economic Planning and Industries; Kausea Natano (Funafuti) Public Utilities; Taukelina Finikaso (Vaitupu) Communications and Works; Italeli Taeia (Nui) Education, Sports and Health. Sir Tomu Sione (Niutao) acted as Chairman of the Caucus. [1]
The politics of Tuvalu takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, whereby the Monarch is the head of state, represented by the Governor-General, while the Prime Minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government.
Maatia Toafa OBE is a Tuvaluan politician, representing Nanumea, who served two non-consecutive terms as Prime Minister of Tuvalu. He first served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2006, from the resignation of his predecessor, Saufatu Sopoanga, until the defeat of his Cabinet in the 2006 general election. He was re-elected to parliament in the 2010 general election; and regained the premiership on 29 September 2010; however he lost the support of the parliament following a motion of confidence on 21 December of the same year. On 5 August 2013 Toafa became the Minister of Finance and Economic Development in the government of Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga. He was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister following the 2015 Tuvaluan general election. He was not re-elected in the 2019 general election.
Tuvalu elects a legislature on a national level. The Parliament of Tuvalu has 16 members, elected for a four-year term in 8 double-seat constituencies. Tuvalu is a de facto non-partisan democracy since it does not have political parties.
The Parliament of Tuvalu is the unicameral national legislature of Tuvalu. The place at which the parliament sits is called the Vaiaku maneapa. The maneapa on each island is an open meeting place where the chiefs and elders deliberate and make decisions.
Sir Kamuta Latasi is a political figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu from Funafuti atoll. He was elected to the Parliament of Tuvalu in 1992. Latasi served as the 4th Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 1993 until 1996. He has served as the Speaker of parliament from 2006 to September 2010 and again from December 2010 to March 2014.
Apisai Ielemia was a Tuvaluan politician. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2006 to 2010, and was returned as a member of parliament in the 2010 Tuvaluan general election. He was re-elected to parliament in the 2015 Tuvaluan general election. On 5 October 2016 Chief Justice Sweeney of the High Court of Tuvalu declared that Ielemia’s parliamentary seat was vacant as he was not qualified to be a member of parliament, as the consequence of the short time the opposition MP served time in jail following his conviction on 6 May 2016 in the Magistrate’s Court of charges of abuse of office during the final year of his term as Prime Minister. The abuse of office charges related to payments deposited into a National Bank of Tuvalu personal account. The 5 October 2016 decision of the Chief Justice was controversial as it appeared to contradict the June 2016 decision of Justice Norman Franzi of the High Court of Tuvalu that had quashed Ielemia’s conviction and acquitted him of the abuse of office charges. The appeal to the High Court held that the conviction was "manifestly unsafe," with the court quashing the 12-month jail term.
Willy Telavi is a Tuvaluan politician who was Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2010 to 2013.
Sir Iakoba Taeia Italeli is a Tuvaluan politician who was the governor-general of Tuvalu from 16 April 2010, until 22 August 2019, when he resigned to contest in the 2019 general election.
Lotoala Metia was a Tuvaluan politician and football player.
Taukelina Finikaso is a political figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu. At the 2006 general election, he was elected MP for his home constituency of Vaitupu. He was educated in Kiribati and Fiji before acquiring a Law Degree at the University of Tasmania and a master's degree in International Law from Sydney University. Finikaso was admitted on 16 October 1987 to the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. Prior to entering into politics, Finikaso worked as a lawyer and then as a Permanent Secretary under the different ministries of the Government. Finikaso has been a Member of Parliament for the Constituency of Vaitupu from 2006 to 2019. He was not re-elected in the 2019 general election.
Tavau Teii is a political figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu.
Parliamentary elections were held in Tuvalu on 16 September 2010. Voters elected fifteen members of the Parliament to a four-year term. All candidates were independents, as there are no political parties in the country. Ten out of the fifteen incumbent members were re-elected. The remaining five incumbents, including Deputy Prime Minister Tavau Teii, did not retain their seats. The incumbent Prime Minister, Apisai Ielemia, retained his seat in Vaitupu constituency. On 29 September, Maatia Toafa from Nanumea won eight of the fifteen votes to become Prime Minister.
The Cabinet of Tuvalu is the executive branch of the government of Tuvalu.
Dr. Falesa Pitoi is a Tuvaluan politician.
Pelenike Tekinene Isaia served in the Parliament of Tuvalu from 2011 to 2015. Before her election as an MP she worked for the Tuvalu Cooperative Society, as its branch manager in Nui.
A by-election was held in the Niutao constituency in Tuvalu on 5 May 2003. It was triggered by the death of the incumbent MP, Saloa Tauia. Tauia, the Speaker of Parliament, died in February, after having entered Parliament in the July 2002 general election.
A by-election was held in the Nukufetau constituency in Tuvalu on 28 June 2013. It followed the death of MP and Minister for Finance Lotoala Metia, who died suddenly on 21 December 2012.
The Tuvaluan constitutional crisis was a political dispute in Tuvalu between the government, led by Prime Minister Willy Telavi, and the opposition, led by Enele Sopoaga, that was precipitated by the death of the Minister of Finance, Lotoala Metia MP on 21 December 2012, which eliminated the government's majority. The dispute was eventually resolved in August 2013 by a motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Willy Telavi, following which Enele Sopoaga was elected Prime Minister.
The Telavi Ministry was the 13th ministry of the Government of Tuvalu, led by Prime Minister Willy Telavi. It succeeded the Second Toafa Ministry upon its swearing in by Governor-General Iakoba Italeli on 24 December 2010 after a vote of no confidence in former Prime Minister Maatia Toafa. Following Telavi's removal as prime minister, his ministry was subsequently brought down by the opposition's vote of no confidence and was succeeded by the Sopoaga Ministry, led by Enele Sopoaga, on 5 August 2013.