King Tupou VI dissolved parliament last month and has called for new elections to be held before November 16. Prime Minister 'Akilisi Pōhiva is the first commoner to be elected into the role.
Professor Helen Lee from Australia's La Trobe University, who has written extensively on Tongan culture, says despite the involvement of nobles in passport scams, diversion of aid-funding, links to organised crime, and the King's holiday trip the day after the Ashika Ferry disaster, most Tongans have no desire to disempower the monarchy.
