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A by-election was held in the Nukufetau constituency in Tuvalu on 28 June 2013. [1] It followed the death of MP and Minister for Finance Lotoala Metia, who died suddenly on 21 December 2012.
The by-election ultimately played a key part in an unprecedented constitutional crisis, culminating in a change of government.
The by-election was seen as crucial for the future of Prime Minister Willy Telavi's government, which was reduced by Metia's death to a parity of seven seats apiece with the Opposition in Parliament. The government had previously survived a by-election in August 2011 caused by the death of Minister for Works Isaia Italeli. [2]
Nukufetau is a two-seat constituency. In the 2010 general election, it had returned Enele Sopoaga and Lotoala Metia, respectively with 40.46% and 32.95% of the vote, ahead of one other candidate (incumbent Elisala Pita). [3] For the by-election, of course, only one seat would be provided for, Sopoaga (the Leader of the Opposition) retaining the other.
By early February 2013, no date had been set for the Nukufetau by-election, prompting the opposition to accuse the government of unnecessary (and potentially unconstitutional) delay. Tensions were reported on Nukufetau between supporters of the government and supporters of the opposition, with fears of violence, accentuating calls that the election should be decided swiftly. The opposition was campaigning actively for the seat, before the by-election had even been called. [4] Nukufetau's council of elders (Falekaupule) reportedly backed the opposition, as they had been doing for a while; in 2011, the elders had unsuccessfully asked Metia to "reconsider his allegiance" to Telavi, and to support Sopoaga instead. [5] By mid-March, the government had still not set a date for the by-election, and Opposition MP Taukelina Finikaso accused the Telavi government of having shelved a water supply project on Nukufetau, so as to punish the atoll for its elders' lack of political support. [5]
At the start of April, Finikaso lodged a claim in the High Court of Tuvalu, seeking an injunction to compel the government to proceed with the by-election. He argued that the government was afraid of losing its majority through the by-election, Parliament not having sat since Metia's death had rendered the seat vacant in December. [6] Prime Minister Telavi responded that he wished to see the tensions on Nukufetau resolved before a by-election was held. He pointed to "a number of officials" having been dismissed by the local council, identifying this as a source of tension and division, and called for reconciliation before the election. [7] He stated that the dismissal of officials, which he described as "wrongful", led him to doubt whether the election would be "free and fair"; hence the delay, he explained. [8]
In May, complications emerged in relation to the court hearing due to rule on Finikaso's claim. Tuvalu's Chief Justice Sir Gordon Ward was a resident of New Zealand; to reach Tuvalu, he had to transit via Fiji. (The only flights to Funafuti International Airport are from Fiji.) He had formerly served as President of Fiji's Court of Appeal, but had resigned following the 2006 Fijian coup d'état; he had then criticised Fiji's military government. The Fiji government refused him transit, stating that Tuvaluan authorities had not "submitted the proper paperwork in time". Ward then offered to hear the case in New Zealand, which Finikaso accepted. [9] The Tuvalu High Court ruling was issued in Auckland on 24 May, [10] ordering that the by-election must be held within twenty-six days. [11] [12] The government then announced the election would be held on 28 June 2013. [1]
The government nominated Petely Niuatui, a teacher. Were she to be elected, she would be only the third woman ever to be elected to the Tuvaluan Parliament, which for the first time ever would have two female MPs simultaneously. [1]
Two candidates were "nominated by the Nukufetau community with a strong Opposition backing", with the understanding that one or the other would withdraw. One was Saufatu Sopoaga, former Prime Minister (2002-2004) and elder brother of the other sitting Nukufetau MP, Opposition leader Enele Sopoaga. The other was Elisala Pita, formerly an MP for the constituency from the 2003 by-election until his defeat in the 2010 general election. [1] It was eventually decided that Pita would be the Opposition's candidate. [13]
Pita won the seat by a landslide, with over two-thirds of the vote. The Opposition now had a majority of seats (eight to seven), and immediately called for the government to reconvene Parliament, which had not sat since Metia's death in December. [14] A constitutional crisis developed when Prime Minister Telavi responded that, under the Constitution, he was only required to convene Parliament once a year, and was thus under no obligation to summon it until December 2013. [15] Tuvalu's opposition then requested the Governor-General Iakoba Italeli to intervene against the Prime Minister's decision. [16] On 3 July, Italeli exercised his reserve powers in ordering Parliament to convene, against the Prime Minister's wishes, on 30 July. [17]
On 30 July 2013, as the government was about to face a motion of no confidence, Health Minister Taom Tanukale unexpectedly resigned from Parliament (and thus also from the government) altogether. With Metia dead, Education Minister Falesa Pitoi ill and outside the country since December 2012, and Tanukale having resigned, this left Telavi with only three active government ministers other than himself: Deputy Prime Minister Kausea Natano, Foreign Affairs Minister Apisai Ielemia, and Home Affairs Minister Pelenike Isaia; he also had the support of the Speaker. (There were no government backbenchers.) [18] The following day, the reason for Tanukale's resignation became apparent. The Speaker, Kamuta Latasi, rejected the Opposition's attempt to table a motion of no confidence, on the grounds that there was now a vacant seat in Parliament. Latasi adjourned Parliament, and ruled that it would not reconvene until a by-election had been held - thus prolonging Telavi's minority government once more. [19]
Ultimately, on 1 August Governor General Sir Iakoba Italeli intervened to remove Prime Minister Telavi from office, so as to enable Parliament to sit and determine who was to form a government. [20] Parliament elected Opposition Leader Enele Sopoaga to the premiership. [21]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Elisala Pita  (opposition candidate) | 537 | 67.04 | +40.45 | |
| Independent | Petely Niuatui (government candidate) | 264 | 32.96 | n/a | |
| Majority | 273 | 34.08 | |||
| Opposition gain from Government | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Enele Sopoaga | 490 | 40.46 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Lotoala Metia | 399 | 32.95 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Elisala Pita | 322 | 26.59 | ||
| Lotoala Metia hold | Swing | ||||
| Enele Sopoaga gain from Elisala Pita | |||||
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.
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.
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.
Kausea Natano is a Tuvaluan politician who is serving as Prime Minister of Tuvalu, in office since 19 September 2019. He is also serving as an MP for Funafuti, having also served as the country's deputy prime minister and minister for communications in former prime minister Willy Telavi's Cabinet.
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.
Enele Sosene Sopoaga PC is a Tuvaluan diplomat and politician who was Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2013 to 2019.
The Cabinet of Tuvalu is the executive branch of the government of Tuvalu.
Dr. Falesa Pitoi is a Tuvaluan politician.
Elisala Pita OBE was a Tuvaluan politician.
The governor-general of Tuvalu is the vice-regal representative of the Tuvaluan monarch, currently King Charles III, in the country of Tuvalu.
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.
A by-election was held in the Nui constituency in Tuvalu on 10 September 2013. It was triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, MP Taom Tanukale, the Minister for Health, in the government of Willy Telavi.
A by-election was held in the Nanumaga constituency in Tuvalu on 14 January 2014. It followed the seat being declared vacant because of the ill-health of the incumbent Opposition MP Dr. Falesa Pitoi, on health grounds.