Tuvaluan constitutional crisis

Tuvalu is a parliamentary democracy. The head of state is the monarch of Tuvalu, who is the same person as the monarch of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms; at the time of the crisis, the monarch was Queen Elizabeth II. The monarch is represented by the Governor-General, who is appointed (or removed) by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, and to whom almost all of the monarch's duties are delegated. The Prime Minister is elected by the members of the Parliament, but it is within the Governor-General's reserve powers to unilaterally dismiss him. The dispute began following the sudden death of the incumbent Member of Parliament for Nukufetau, Lotoala Metia, on 21 December 2012, resulting in both the government and opposition having seven representatives in Parliament. Despite protests from the opposition, the ministry of the Prime Minister Willy Telavi delayed a by-election for the seat by more than six months, until June 2013, when the High Court of Tuvalu ordered that the by-election be held within 28 days of the judgment. The decision was delivered by Senior Magistrate Afele Kitiona on behalf of Chief Justice Sir Gordon Ward. The decision was delivered following two separate legal challenges by both the government and the opposition that sought to determine the minister who was responsible for allowing elections to take place. The ruling gave the opposition the necessary notices required to begin the by-election process in the constituency, which would allow them to gain a majority in parliament and, theoretically, pass a motion of no confidence in the government. Opposition member and lawyer Taukelina Finikaso said the following after the ruling: "We have certainly been working with our candidate and we are quietly confident we will be able to get through this by-election." ==Crisis==

By-election The by-election was eventually held on 28 June 2013 and opposition member Elisala Pita beat the government candidate Petely Niuatui by 537 votes to 264, giving the opposition an 8–7 majority over the government in the Tuvaluan Parliament. The constitutional crisis continued as the Prime Minister announced that, under the Constitution of Tuvalu, he was only required to convene Parliament once a year, and was thus under no obligation to summon it until December 2013. Tuvalu's opposition then requested the Governor-General Sir Iakoba Italeli to intervene against the Prime Minister's decision. On 3 July, Italeli exercised his reserve powers in ordering Parliament to convene, against the Prime Minister's wishes, on 30 July. Opposition member Finikaso said: "It looks like we have seen the end of the uncertainty that reigned in Tuvalu for the last six months." In a further twist, just minutes later, the government's Health Minister, Taom Tanukale, announced he was resigning his post, helping to dwindle government numbers further from five to four, following Education Minister Falesa Pitoi's absence due to illness. The adjournment led to further hostility from the opposition, who hoped to move a vote of no confidence in Telavi, claiming that the Speaker has failed to "listen to the advice of the Attorney-General". The Speaker's response prompted the opposition to seek assistance from the Governor-General for a second time so that parliament could be reconvened once again. Dismissal of Willy Telavi A day later, on 1 August 2013, Prime Minister Willy Telavi issued a public announcement that he had advised the Queen of Tuvalu, Elizabeth II, to remove Governor-General Itelali from his post. The Queen gave no indication of her reaction to Telavi's letter, leaving Italeli's position secure. Governor-General Italeli, acting on his reserve powers, sent out a proclamation dismissing Telavi as the Prime Minister of Tuvalu. Appointment of Enele Sopoaga On Friday 2 August, Willy Tevali faced a motion of no confidence, the voting was eight for the motion, four against and one abstention – the Speaker abstained from voting on the motion. The Governor-General ordered parliament to meet once again on the following Saturday to elect a new prime minister, and a ballot held was won by the opposition leader by 8 votes to 5; following the vote Enele Sopoaga was sworn in as Tuvalu's new prime minister on 5 August 2013. He appointed his new cabinet to the Sopoaga Ministry the same day. but never eventuated. == See also ==