His resignation comes ahead of Tonga’s elections next year.
Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni announced his resignation ahead of a planned no-confidence motion in Parliament on Dec. 9, according to local media.
At the opening session of Tonga’s Parliament on Dec. 9, Sovaleni said, “I'll be resigning as Prime Minister for Tonga, in accordance with Clause 50A (2)(c) of the Constitution, effective immediately today,” the Matangi Tonga Online
reported.
The no-confidence motion was submitted to the House speaker last month and was
expected to be put to a vote today. But it was neither tabled nor deliberated following Sovaleni’s remarks, according to the news outlet.
Sovaleni
survived a vote of no confidence last year, with 14 voting in his favor and 11 against, according to a statement from his office at the time.
Sovaleni told the news outlet that he has decided to resign because “Tonga has been through a lot” and should not be put through another vote. He pledged to provide “some kind of support” moving forward.
It remains unclear who will succeed him. The Pacific island nation is expected to hold a national election in November 2025.
Sovaleni has had difficult relations with Tonga’s head of state, King Tupou VI.
In April, Sovaleni resigned as defense minister after the king withdrew confidence in him.
When asked whether his resignation was prompted by recent discord with the monarchy, Sovaleni
told Radio New Zealand that “it’s normal to have ... differences in views on certain things” but that he wasn’t “sure whether that’s the reason.” He did not elaborate further.
Sovaleni said he still has no explanation for why the king withdrew confidence in him.
“But we still provide respect to His Majesty. Whatever we do, we always consider that relationship. So maybe you can ask someone else,” Sovaleni said.
In March, Sovaleni reportedly attended a traditional apology ceremony to the monarch, but neither the government nor the palace issued any public statement about the event.
The 54-year-old politician was
elected as Tonga’s prime minister in 2021. He had previously served as education minister since October 2019. The Pacific island nation, home to a little more than 100,000 people, experienced a massive volcanic eruption in 2022 that NASA
described as “hundreds of times” stronger than the Hiroshima nuclear explosion.
Last year, the United States
opened an embassy in Tonga to deepen bilateral ties. Geopolitical competition in the Pacific region has intensified since China struck a military deal last year with the Solomon Islands that Pacific nations are concerned could allow the Chinese communist regime to station its troops and weapons there.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
