Greens congratulate Tongan Democratic Party on winning election

Green MP Keith Locke today congratulated the Tongan Democratic Party for its election victory yesterday.

Mr Locke has been actively supporting the Tongan democracy movement for twenty years. He recently visited Tonga in August as part of a team of New Zealand MPs.
The election was the first time Tongan’s have elected their government. The voter turnout was around 90 percent.

"The election result was a vindication for those who have campaigned over many years for democracy in Tonga," said Mr Locke, the Green Party's foreign affairs spokesperson.

"I particularly pay tribute to the sacrifices made by the Tongan Democratic Party’s leader Akilisi Pohiva on the road to democracy. He, along with other democrats, has had to suffer trumped-up libel and sedition charges and periods in jail.

"A new democratic era beckons for Tonga, and New Zealanders should give the new Democratic Party government every support as it charts a new course for Tonga,” said Mr Locke.

ENDS

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