Tonga’s Prime Minister (PM) Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni has stepped down from his position as Defense Minister to permit a nobleman to take the position.
Sources within the nation’s capital of Nuku’alofa claim the decision was made after a meeting between Hua’kavameiliku and his cabinet with King Tupou VI on Niuafo’ou island. Tonga’s Privy Council stated earlier this month that King Tupou VI had “lost confidence” in the PM.
Attorney General Linda Folaumoetu’i informed Hua’kavameiliku and his cabinet that a letter from the Privy Council stating the King revoking two ministerial appointments was “unconstitutional.”
Current acting PM Samiuela Vaipulu claimed the government will handle this dispute with the king in “the Pacific way.”
