The highest polling woman candidate in Tonga's last election says there's little support for women trying to get into parliament there.
The highest polling woman candidate in Tonga's last election says there's little encouragement or support in Tonga for women trying to get into parliament.
Tonga's parliament is all male after the 2014 election, despite 16 women candidates vying for a seat in the 26 member house.
Sipola Fakaanga Havili Photo: RNZI/Sally Round
Sipola Fakaanga Havili said she was the only woman standing for the Democratic Party in 2014 and she was keen to stand again in 2018.
But she said there needed to be more cross-party support for aspiring women MPs.
"I felt that there should be more support and more follow-up of myself, more support by other women MPs, more support from other stakeholders in the country," she said.
"If they think that women's issues are an important issue, despite differences in political beliefs, we should work together because we are the changing agent for Tonga."
Mrs Havili said she would be drawing on the support of her official mentor New Zealand MP, Carmel Sepuloni, in running for the next election.
