Though the monarch is no longer the chief executive authority, he retains significant powers, including the ability to veto legislation and dissolve the parliament. King ʻAhoʻeitu Tupou VI came to the throne in 2012 and is known to hold more conservative views than his late brother and predecessor, George Tupou V.

The prime minister, who chooses the cabinet, is formally appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the parliament. Veteran democracy campaigner ʻAkilisi Pōhiva, who initially took office in 2014, died in 2019 after a long illness; he was succeeded by then finance minister Pōhiva Tuʻiʻonetoa, who formed a cabinet that included commoners and nobles.

Following the November 2021 general elections, a 16-member majority in the new parliament chose Siaosi Sovaleni as prime minister. He defeated ʻAisake Eke, a candidate supported by outgoing prime minister Tuʻiʻonetoa. The subsequently formed 12-member cabinet included only one member from the nobility.

In August 2023, 10 lawmakers filed a no-confidence motion against Sovaleni, accusing his government of financial mismanagement and decision-making opacity among other complaints. Sovaleni survived the vote, held in September. Noble members of the parliament, who historically voted as a bloc, were notably split.

The unicameral Legislative Assembly (Fale Alea) consists of 17 members who are directly elected by commoners in single-member districts, 9 noble members elected by their peers across five districts, and up to 4 additional members whom the prime minister may appoint to the cabinet from outside the parliament and who hold their seats ex officio. The speaker is appointed from among the noble members on the recommendation of the assembly.

Some 75 candidates registered to contest the 2021 general elections, which were the country’s fourth since the democratic reforms of 2010. Nine of the people’s representatives elected were new members, as were three of the nine noble representatives.

By-elections were held on the island of Tongatapu in January and July 2023 after incumbent lawmakers died in office.

The Electoral Commission administers elections competently and fairly, though the framework for parliamentary elections reserves nine seats for the holders of noble titles.

There are no major restrictions on political competition. Lawmakers are known to shift their allegiances; after former prime minister Pōhiva’s death in 2019, four lawmakers who were associated with the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands (PTOA) defected to the new Tonga People’s Party, effectively leaving the PTOA in opposition by the end of that year. PTOA factions remained active in subsequent years, leaving the movement split.

Rival coalitions led by Pōhiva’s popularly elected allies and more conservative politicians from the nobility have alternated in government in recent years, though Tuʻiʻonetoa governed with support from a mixture of popularly elected and noble members. Sovaleni’s election as prime minister in 2021 represented another change of government, as his only opponent, ʻAisake Eke, was backed by the outgoing prime minister.

The monarchy, the nobility, and the country’s churches exert considerable political influence. In the months leading up to the 2021 elections, Tonga’s king repeatedly expressed his displeasure with the performance of the parliament. However, such public criticism has waned during Sovaleni’s premiership.

Women have the same formal political rights as men, but no women won seats in the 2021 parliamentary elections, while two held seats in the previous legislature. However, Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu was appointed in late 2021 to serve as foreign minister and remained in her post at the end of 2023. In addition, another woman, Dulcie Tei, won a by-election in late 2022.

Cultural biases tend to discourage women’s political participation, and women cannot inherit noble titles, meaning that parliamentary seats reserved for nobles are effectively reserved for men. Members of ethnic minority groups face similar obstacles, though the population is mostly homogeneous, and many members of the small Chinese minority have been able to obtain citizenship and its associated political rights.

The elected prime minister and his cabinet largely control the formulation and implementation of government policy, but the king continues to rely on the Privy Council—whose members he appoints himself—for advice regarding the use of his constitutional powers. The Privy Council facilitates a continuing political role for the monarch. Relations between the crown and the government have eased under Sovaleni.

Corruption and abuse of office are serious problems. While public officials and leaders of state-owned companies are sometimes held to account for bribery and other malfeasance, anticorruption mechanisms are generally weak and lacking in resources. In February 2023, the parliament legislated to establish an independent anticorruption commission, though no commissioner had been appointed by December.

Several politicians have been convicted of corruption charges in recent years. In 2022, three ministers were convicted of bribing voters in the 2021 election campaign and had their elections voided. One of the three, Tatafu Moeaki, was made the central bank’s governor in late 2022. Another, former deputy prime minister Poasi Tei, was made chief executive officer of Lulutai Airlines. Former prime minister Tuʻiʻonetoa was convicted of separate bribery-related incidents in two decisions in 2022 but those rulings were later overturned, allowing him to hold his parliamentary seat. In May 2023, an appeal by former lawmaker ‘Etuate Lavulavu, who had received a six-year prison sentence for corruption, was rejected by the chief justice, meaning that he would be retried in response to an amended indictment.

Tonga does not have a law to guarantee public access to government information, which can be difficult to obtain in practice, and officials are not legally obliged to disclose their assets and income. The government has at times resisted public scrutiny of pending policies or auditor general’s reports.

In August 2023, the speaker cancelled government funding for the live broadcast of parliamentary sessions, ending local media outlets’ carriage of those proceedings. The cancellation stopped the public from hearing debates about the auditor general’s 2021–22 report, which warned of discrepancies in government financial reports, and funding for a new Lulutai Airlines aircraft.

The constitution guarantees freedom of the press, and a variety of news outlets operate independently, including online. However, politicians have a history of exerting pressure on the media in response to critical coverage. The Tongan government owns the Tongan Broadcasting Commission, a broadcaster that is funded via advertising revenue, but privately owned radio stations are additionally available. The country’s internet penetration rate stood at 71.6 percent as of early 2023, though radio penetration is reportedly higher in practice.

The Electronic Communication Abuse Offences Act calls for fines and prison terms of up to three years for the use of a communication platform to abuse, harass, or otherwise harm another person, raising concerns that it could be enforced in a way that restricts journalistic activity or personal expression.

Constitutional protections for religious freedom are generally upheld in practice. Religious groups are not required to register, but those that do receive various benefits. There are some restrictions on commercial activity on Sundays in keeping with a constitutional recognition of the Christian sabbath.

Academic freedom is generally unrestricted. While there have been reports of self-censorship to avoid friction with the government in the past, no incidents of political interference have been reported in recent years. In 2021, the parliament passed legislation to merge existing publicly owned tertiary institutions into Tonga’s first national university.

The government is not known to monitor personal communications.

The constitution protects freedom of assembly, and demonstrations in recent years have generally proceeded peacefully.

Nongovernmental organizations have not reported harassment or other restrictions by the authorities, but the civil society sector in Tonga remains relatively small and has limited influence.

Workers have the legal right to organize in trade unions, but implementing regulations have never been issued, meaning the country’s various de facto unions generally operate as associations.

The king retains authority over judicial appointments and dismissals. The Judicial Appointments and Discipline Panel, a committee of the Privy Council, provides advice on appointments, including for the lord chancellor, who has responsibility for administering the courts. The king in Privy Council has final jurisdiction over cases in the land court relating to hereditary estates and titles.

The judiciary is regarded as largely independent, but the royally appointed attorney general has previously been accused of interfering with judicial rulings.

Due process provisions and safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention are typically respected by the authorities. However, there is no mechanism to guarantee access to counsel for indigent defendants.

The police commissioner, Australian Shane McLennan, was sworn into office in 2022. The Police Act of 2010 gives control over the appointment of the police commissioner to the Privy Council, which has raised tensions with elected officials.

In July 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the Public Service Commission had unlawfully disciplined the country’s deputy foreign secretary, criticizing the commission’s regulations.

Prison conditions are generally adequate and police brutality is rare. Crime rates have risen in recent years, largely due to the country’s drug crisis. A number of police officers accused of misconduct have been investigated, dismissed, or convicted of crimes in recent years. Public concern has increasingly focused on security problems including organized crime affecting the Chinese community, drug-related petty crime, and the country’s growing role as a destination and production point—not just a transit point—for illegal drug trafficking.

The constitution includes a general provision for equality before the law, and this is upheld in many respects. However, women still face some forms of discrimination, including in land and inheritance laws and with regard to employment.

Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized per the Criminal Offences Act, though the ban is not actively enforced. The May 2021 murder of an LGBT+ rights activist prompted renewed calls for a repeal of the law; the man suspected of committing the murder pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison that October.

There are no significant constraints on freedom of movement or the ability to change one’s place of residence or employment. Beginning in 2020, police enforced temporary movement restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 but most restrictions ended in 2022. In April 2023, the government rescinded requirements for foreign travelers to carry proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

The legal framework generally supports private business activity. However, individuals cannot own or sell land outright, as all land is technically the property of the king. Land rights, once granted by nobles or directly by the crown through an allotment system, can only be leased or inherited, and while women can obtain leases, they are not eligible to receive or inherit land allotments.

Personal social freedoms are typically respected. However, domestic violence remains a problem despite state and civil society efforts to prevent it, and girls as young as 15—the legal minimum age for marriage with parental permission—are sometimes compelled by their parents to marry. The law does not recognize same-sex marriages or unions.

The population generally has access to economic opportunities and protection from abusive working conditions, though enforcement of labor laws is affected by resource limitations, and some employers have violated workers’ rights.