This is a list of members of the Parliament of Tuvalu or Palamene o Tuvalu who were elected at the 2015 Tuvaluan general election [1] or as the result of by-elections during the life of the parliament.
The general election was held in Tuvalu on 31 March 2015. [2] [3] [4] The state of emergency created by Cyclone Pam resulted in the election being delayed twice. The election was originally scheduled for 19 March, [5] then after Cyclone Pam caused damage to the islands, the election was rescheduled. [6]
The constituencies of Niutao and Nui had contested ballots, including former members of parliament as candidates. [7] [8] On Nui the sitting members were not returned to parliament. [9] On Nuitao Vete Sakaio, the deputy-prime minister, was not elected; the election was otherwise a good result for the government of Enele Sopoaga, [10] who expects to have the support of 11 members of parliament. [11] Enele Sopoaga was sworn in as prime minister and appointed the ministers to the cabinet on 10 April. [12] [13] [14]
Members elected for the first time at the 2015 general election are noted with *
Name | National party | Constituency | # Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Taukelina Finikaso | Independent | Vaitupu | |
Apisai Ielemia | Independent | Vaitupu | The High Court declared that Ielemia was not qualified to be a member of parliament. |
Isaia Vaipuna Taape * | Independent | Vaitupu | Elected at the Vaitupu by-election. |
Monise Lafai | Independent | Nanumaga | |
Otinielu Tausi | Independent | Nanumaga | Elected Speaker of the Parliament of Tuvalu. |
Sir Kamuta Latasi | Independent | Funafuti | Sir Kamuta Latasi resigned as MP on 17 October 2018. |
Simon Kofe * | Independent | Funafuti | Kofe was elected at the Funafuti by-election on 20 November 2018. |
Kausea Natano | Independent | Funafuti | |
Fauoa Maani | Independent | Niutao | |
Samuelu Teo * | Independent | Niutao | |
Elisala Pita | Independent | Nukufetau | Elected unopposed |
Enele Sopoaga | Independent | Nukufetau | Elected unopposed |
Namoliki Sualiki | Independent | Nukulaelae | Elected unopposed |
Mackenzie Kiritome * | Independent | Nui | |
Puakena Boreham * | Independent | Nui | |
Satini Manuella | Independent | Nanumea | |
Maatia Toafa | Independent | Nanumea |
Apisai Ielemia was elected to represent Vaitupu in the Tuvaluan general election, 2015. On 5 October 2016 Chief Justice Sweeney of the High Court of Tuvalu declared that Ielemia's parliamentary seat was vacant as he was no longer 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 (August 2006 to September 2010). [15]
The Vaitupu by-election was held on 17 July 2017. Isaia Vaipuna Taape was elected with about half the 1,100 votes, 41 votes ahead of Melton Paka Tauetia. [16] Taape was sworn in as a member of parliament for Vaitupu on Wednesday 16 August 2017. [17]
Sir Kamuta Latasi resigned as MP on 17 October 2018. A by-election was held on 20 November 2018, with Simon Kofe, a former senior magistrate, being elected. [18]
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.
Nui is an atoll and one of nine districts of the Pacific Ocean state of Tuvalu. It has a land area of 3.37 km² and a population of 610.
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.
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.
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.
The Sopoaga Ministry was the 14th ministry of the Government of Tuvalu, led by Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga. It succeeds the Telavi Ministry upon its swearing in by Governor-General Sir Iakoba Italeli 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.
Leneuoti Matusi is a Tuvaluan politician and former civil servant who was elected as an Independent MP for the Nui constituency in a 2013 by-election, having previously served as the Secretary of the Nui Falekaupule.
General elections were held in Tuvalu on 31 March 2015. The state of emergency created by Cyclone Pam resulted in the election being delayed twice. The election was originally scheduled for 19 March, then after Cyclone Pam caused damage to the islands, the election was rescheduled for 26 March.
Puakena Boreham is a medical practitioner (anaesthetist) who became a Tuvaluan politician, when she was elected to represent Nui in the 2015 Tuvaluan general election. She was appointed as the Minister of Works and Natural Resources in August 2016; and served as the minister during the Sopoaga Ministry. She was re-elected in the 2019 general election.
Samuelu Penitala Teo is a Tuvaluan politician. He is the son of Sir Fiatau Penitala Teo who was appointed as the first Governor General of Tuvalu (1978–1986) following independence from Great Britain. Samuelu Teo himself served as the Acting Governor-General of Tuvalu from January until 28 September 2021. He had succeeded Acting Governor-General Teniku Talesi and remained in office until the Rev. Tofiga Vaevalu Falani was sworn in as the 10th Governor-General in September 2021.
Mackenzie Kiritome is the owner of a trading company, who became a Tuvaluan politician when he was elected to represent Nui in the 2015 Tuvaluan general election. He was re-elected in the 2019 general election.
A by-election was held in the Vaitupu constituency in Tuvalu on 19 July 2017. It was triggered by incumbent MP Apisai Ielemia's dismissal from the seat by court order. It was won by political newcomer Isaia Vaipuna Taape.
Simon Kofe is a Tuvaluan politician. He was appointed as the Minister for Justice, Communication & Foreign Affairs, in the cabinet of Kausea Natano following the 2019 Tuvaluan general election.