Sixty-four candidates will contest the upcoming parliamentary election in Tonga.
The nomination and registering of candidates for the next Tongan Legislative Assembly election in March ended yesterday.
Candidate hopefuls had to complete a nomination form, get 50 signatures of registered voters supporting them, and pay a local fee of $200.
Tonga's Elections supervisor, Pita Vuiki, says candidate numbers are up from last year's 52.
He says six of them are women, signalling more are willing to take up the challenge.
