A by-election was held in the Tongatapu 9 constituency of Tonga on 15 September 2011. It was triggered by the death of the incumbent, the first time MP Kaveinga Faʻanunu, who died of head and neck cancer on 24 July. Under the first past the post system, Faʻanunu had won the newly established single-member seat for the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands in the November 2010 general election, with 34% of the vote, and a majority of 494 votes (18.5%), appearing to make it a relatively safe seat for the party (which was a junior partner in Lord Tuʻivakano's government).[1][2]
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Candidates
editOn 18 August, the Tongan government announced that six candidates had been registered for the by-election, without however specifying what political party any of them might be a member of. They were Konisitutone Simana Kamii, Siaosi ʻEnosi Tuʻipulotu, Viliami Fukofuka, Sevenitini Toumoʻua, ʻEpeli Taufa Kalimani, and Falisi Tupou. The first five had stood unsuccessfully in the November general election – most notably Sevenitini Toumoʻua, who had finished second to Faʻanunu with 15.5% of the vote.[3]
Result
editFalisi Tupou, the candidate of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands, won the seat with 32.8% of the vote.[4][5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPFI | Falisi Tupou | 745 | 32.83% | −1.2% | |
| (unknown) | Sevenitini Toumoʻua | 483 | 21.29% | +5.8% | |
| (unknown) | Viliami Fukofuka | 469 | 20.67% | +10.9% | |
| (unknown) | Siaosi ʻEnosi Tuʻipulotu | 254 | 11.20% | +5.7% | |
| (unknown) | ʻEpeli Taufa Kalemani | 199 | 8.77% | +6.9% | |
| (unknown) | Konisitutone Simana Kami | 119 | 5.24% | +3.3% | |
| Turnout | 2,269 | 76.68% | |||
| Majority | 262 | 11.55% | −7% | ||
| DPFI hold | Swing | -1.2% | |||
2010 result
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPFI | Kaveinga Faʻanunu | 908 | 34.0 | ||
| (unknown) | Sevenitini Toumoʻua | 414 | 15.5 | ||
| (unknown) | Viliami Fukofuka | 262 | 9.8 | ||
| (unknown) | Filimone Fifita | 241 | 9.0 | ||
| (unknown) | ʻAisake ʻEtimoni Tuʻiono | 229 | 8.6 | ||
| (unknown) | Siaosi ʻEnosi Tuʻipulotu | 147 | 5.5 | ||
| (unknown) | Semisi Kailahi | 136 | 5.1 | ||
| (unknown) | Tonga Tongilava Lemoto | 110 | 4.1 | ||
| (unknown) | ʻEpeli Taufa Kalemani | 51 | 1.9 | ||
| (unknown) | Konisitutone Simana Kami | 50 | 1.9 | ||
| (unknown) | Falati Papani | 49 | 1.8 | ||
| (unknown) | Mosese Latu | 22 | 0.8 | ||
| (unknown) | Sione ʻUmeahola Faeamani | 21 | 0.8 | ||
| (unknown) | ʻOfa Fatai | 18 | 0.7 | ||
| (unknown) | Samisoni Lotaki Kanongataʻa | 15 | 0.6 | ||
| Turnout | 2673 | ||||
| Majority | 494 | 18.5 | |||
| DPFI win (new seat) | |||||
References
edit- ^ "September 15 by-election for Tongatapu 9". Matangi Tonga. 5 August 2011.
- ^ "Results of the November 2010 general election". Matangi Tonga. 26 November 2010.
- ^ "Six candidates registered for upcoming Tongatapu 9 By-Election" Archived 23 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Tongan government, 19 August 2011
- ^ "Falisi Tupou new Tongatapu 9 PR", Matangi Tonga, 15 September 2011
- ^ "Democratic Party wins Tongan by-election" Archived 1 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, ABC Radio Australia, 15 September 2011