Tonga general election. 20 November 2025 Photo: Tonga Broadcasting Commission
Tonga will be a step closer to finding its next leader on Friday, with the nomination period for prime minister candidates closing at 4:30pm.
As of Friday morning, two people have put their hand up for the top job, but these are not publicly known.
The end of the nomination period comes three weeks after Tongans went to the polls to elect the 26 members of its next parliament.
Nominations for prime minister are submitted to interim Speaker Lord Tangi'o Vaonukonuka who will reveal the identity of candidates on Monday, 15 December, when the elected representatives meet to vote for a prime minister. This is done by secret ballot.
The successful candidate then picks a cabinet, which must be approved and appointed by the King.
Under the constitution, the vote will be repeated if no one gains a majority, with the candidate who wins the least number of votes eliminated from the next round.
On voting day, two new nobles and six new people's representatives were elected.
In Tonga, the parliament is divided between 17 people's representatives, which the general population vote for, and 9 nobles' representatives, selected by the nobles in a separate election process.
Just 49.4 percent, or 31,988 registered voters, turned out to cast their ballots. The rate was even lower than the previous 2021 election turnout of 62 percent.
Supervisor of Elections Pita Vuki previously said the decline in voter participation was due to a range of reasons, including eligible voters being out of the country on polling day.