Mateni Tapueluelu

Mateni Tapueluelu
Member of Parliament
for Tongatapu 4
In office
25 November 2014 – 14 December 2015
Preceded by ʻIsileli Pulu
Majority 9.3%
Personal details
Political party DPFI

Mateni Tapueluelu is a Tongan journalist and politician.

He has worked as a correspondent for Radio New Zealand International in Tonga,[1][2] then became editor of the Keleʻa, the newspaper of the pro-democracy movement and of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands, led by his father-in-law ʻAkilisi Pohiva. Tapueluelu's wife Laucala, Pohiva's daughter, is the newspaper's publisher.[3][4] In 2013, he was fined T$ 130,000 for having published in Keleʻa a letter to the editor found to have defamed members of the government.[5][6] Tapueluelu and his wife published an editorial criticising the ruling, whereupon they were found to be in contempt of court, and subjected to an additional fine of T$2,700.[7]

In the build-up to the 2014 general election, the Democratic Party suffered a split, de-selecting several of its own sitting members of the Legislative Assembly. Among those de-selected was Semisi Tapueluelu, MP for Tongatapu 10 and Mateni Tapueluelu's father. Under Mateni Tapueluelu's lead, Keleʻa published allegations of a sex scandal against his father.[3] In the election in November, Semisi Tapueluelu lost his seat to the party's endorsed candidate in his constituency, while Mateni Tapueluelu was elected MP for Tongatapu 4. In so doing, he defeated incumbent MP and long-time key party figure ʻIsileli Pulu, who had also been de-selected and had therefore stood as an independent.[4][8]

In December 2015 Tapueluelu's election was annulled by the Supreme Court on the grounds of unpaid fines owing from the 2013 criminal libel case.[9]


References

  1. ↑ "Tongan riots after reforms delay". BBC News. 16 November 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "Princess Ashika accused trying to leave Tonga". Stuff.co.nz. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 "PTOA Chair preemptively purging party ‘dissidents’ for fear of being ousted?", Tonga Herald, 10 July 2014
  4. 1 2 "Election Over, Tonga Awaits Selection Of Next Prime Minister", Matangi Tonga, 28 November 2014
  5. ↑ "Tongan Prime Minister's defamation action part of an 'ongoing saga'". Radio New Zealand International. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Court rules that Kele’a newspaper's article defames Prime Minister and 6 ministers", Tonga Broadcasting Commission, 13 June 2013
  7. ↑ "Tonga: Freedom of the Press 2014", Freedom House
  8. ↑ "Ex-Tongan MP blames loss on party split", PNG Loop, 30 November 2014
  9. ↑ "Tongan MP's election ruled unconstitutional". Radio New Zealand International. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.


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