Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Choice of noble as Tongan PM accepted

Updated at 10:00 pm on 21 December 2010

Tongan leaders in New Zealand are generally in favour of the election of a noble as prime minister of their home country.

The noble, Tu'ivakano, secured the position after winning 14 votes in the 26-member parliament.

A political scientist from the Auckland University of Technology, Teena Pulu-Brown, says the election is no surprise to people in Tonga.

She says Tonga's newly overhauled political system, designed to give more more power to ordinary people, will not mirror what happens in New Zealand, Australia or the United States.

The chairman of the Tonga Business Council, Rachel Afeaki-Taumoepeau, says the economy is more important than the social class of the prime minister.

Tu'ivakano replaces Feleti Sevele, the first commoner to lead Tonga's government.

The election took place following political reforms that for the first time allowed the people to elect a majority of MPs.

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