Sione Teisina Fuko is a Tongan politician and former Member of the Tongan Parliament for the island of Ha'apai. He is a member of the People's Democratic Party.
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is a Polynesian country and archipelago comprising 169 islands, of which 36 are inhabited. The total surface area is about 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) scattered over 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) of the southern Pacific Ocean. The sovereign state has a population of 100,651 people, of whom 70% reside on the main island of Tongatapu.
The Legislative Assembly of Tonga has 26 members in which 17 members elected by majority of the people for a 5-year term in multi-seat constituencies via the single non-transferable vote system. There are 9 members elected by the 33 hereditary nobles of Tonga. The Assembly is controlled by the speaker of the House who is elected by majority of the elected members of Parliament and constitutionally appointed by the king.
The People's Democratic Party (PDP) is a political party in Tonga. It was formed after a split in the Human Rights and Democracy Movement. The party was founded on 8 April 2005 in 'Atenisi. Teisina Fuko was the first person elected to the party presidency at a meeting on 15 April 2005.
Fuko was first elected to Parliament in 2002. [1]
On 15 November 2006, he gave two speeches to OBN Television and at Pangai Si'i shortly before the 2006 Nuku'alofa riots. He was subsequently charged with two counts of sedition. On 25 March 2009 he was acquitted. [2]
Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent towards, or resistance against established authority. Sedition may include any commotion, though not aimed at direct and open violence against the laws. Seditious words in writing are seditious libel. A seditionist is one who engages in or promotes the interest of sedition.
In November 2009, Fuko was appointed to Cabinet as Minister for Revenue Services. Unlike previous Cabinet appointments, he was not forced to resign his seat, and continued to serve as a People's Representative. [3]
Fuko ran for re-election in the 2010 election, in the Haʻapai 13 constituency, but was unsuccessful.
Haʻapai 13 is an electoral constituency for the Legislative Assembly in the Kingdom of Tonga. It was established for the November 2010 general election, when the multi-seat regional constituencies for People's Representatives were replaced by single-seat constituencies, electing one representative via the first past the post electoral system. Located in the Haʻapai island group, it encompasses the villages of Nomuka, Mango, Fonoifua, Haʻafeva, Kotu, Tungua, Tofua, Fotuhaʻa, Matuku, ʻOʻua, Fakakai, Pukotala, Ha'ano, Muitoa, Moʻungaʻone, Fotua, Fangaleʻounga, Lotofoa, Faleloa, Haʻateihosiʻi, and Haʻafakahenga. It is one of two constituencies in Haʻapai, the other being Haʻapai 12.
