2013 Nukufetau by-election

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.

2013 Nukufetau by-election
28 June 2013
 
Candidate Elisala Pita Petely Niuatui
Party Independent Independent
Popular vote 537 264
Percentage 67.04% 32.96%

The by-election ultimately played a key part in an unprecedented constitutional crisis, culminating in a change of government.

Main articles: Politics of Tuvalu and List of by-elections in Tuvalu

Context

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]

Candidates

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]

Result and consequences
Main article: Tuvaluan constitutional crisis

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]

Nukufetau by-election, 2013
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

2010 result
Nukufetau constituency results [22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Non-partisan Enele Sopoaga 490 40.46
Non-partisan Lotoala Metia 399 32.95
Non-partisan Elisala Pita 322 26.59
Lotoala Metia hold Swing
Enele Sopoaga gain from Elisala Pita
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References
  1. "Tuvalu’s former PM Sopoaga has another shot" Archived 2013-09-21 at the Wayback Machine, Islands Business, 10 June 2013
  2. "Political future of Tuvalu’s PM awaits decision of by-election in Nukufetau" Archived 2013-02-08 at the Wayback Machine, Islands Business, 10 January 2013
  3. Tuvalu Election Results, 2010 general election, Tuvalu News
  4. "Tuvalu by-election divides Nukufetau, even more", PacNews, 5 February 2013
  5. "No dates set yet for Tuvalu by-election" Archived 2014-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Islands Business, March 2013
  6. "Tuvalu MP takes court action to force by-election", Radio New Zealand International, 2 April 2013
  7. "Tuvalu PM wants reconciliation on Nukufetau before by-election", Radio New Zealand International, 3 April 2013
  8. "Tuvalu’s PM says divisions must be sorted before by-election proceeds", Radio New Zealand International, 3 April 2013
  9. "Travel ban delays Tuvalu hearing on by-election", Radio Australia, 13 May 2013
  10. "Attorney General, In re Application under Section 131(1) of the Constitution of Tuvalu [2014] TVHC 15; Civil Case 1.2013 (24 May 2013)". PACLII. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  11. Matau, Robert (June 2013). "Tuvalu's high court orders by-election to be held". Island Business. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21.
  12. "Tuvalu Supreme Court rules by-election must be held", Radio Australia, 24 May 2013
  13. "By-election today determines Telavi govt’s future" Archived 2014-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Islands Business, 28 June 2013
  14. "Tuvalu’s Opposition waiting to hear from GG" Archived 2014-01-08 at the Wayback Machine, Islands Business, 1 July 2013
  15. "Parliament needs one yearly meeting only says defiant Tuvalu PM", Radio New Zealand International, 2 July 2013
  16. Coutts, Geraldine (2 July 2013). "Tuvalu opposition demands parliament be allowed to sit after weekend by-election". Radio Australia. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  17. "Tuvalu’s parliament convenes July 30" Archived 2013-09-21 at the Wayback Machine, Islands Business, 3 July 2013
  18. "Tuvalu govt bombshells" Archived 2014-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Islands Business, 30 July 2013
  19. "Tuvalu in constitutional crisis, says opposition", Radio New Zealand International, 31 July 2013
  20. "GG appoints Sopoaga as Tuvalu's caretaker PM - Tuvalu - News - Islands Business magazine". 2014-10-10. Archived from the original on 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  21. "ENELE SOPOAGA SWORN-IN TODAY AS TUVALU’S NEW PM" Archived 2013-09-21 at the Wayback Machine, Islands Business, 5 August 2013
  22. Cannon, Brian (16 September 2010). "Tuvalu Election Results". Tuvalu News. Tuvaluislands.com. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
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