Tonga's parliament has been forced to accept the resignation of two ministers after a ruling on bribery charges in the Nuku'alofa Magistrates' Court last week following the country's 2025 general elections.
Parliamentary speaker Lord Alipate Tuivanuavou Vaea confirmed on Monday that Semisi Sika and Lata ʻi Faingataʻa Tangimana stepped down from their seats and ministerial positions last Friday.
Tongan Prime Minister Lord Fatafehi Fakafanua also received the resignation letters from both members of his cabinet.
Mr Sika held the portfolio for infrastructure and tourism while Mr Tangimana was in charge of the finance department.
The two men had been found guilty of the charges in the Supreme Court of Tonga in June before the magistrates' court handed down their penalty, stripping them of their MP roles.
Their constituencies of Tongatapu 2 and Niua 17 will head to by-elections as per the Tongan constitution.
The Komisoni Fili, the Electoral Commission of Tonga, is awaiting the Palace Office, which acts on behalf of King Tupou VI, to issue the writ of elections before confirming the dates of the by-elections. They will be held not less than 21 days nor more than 28 days after the writ is issued, which the writ also includes the nomination of prospective candidates.
Both Mr Sika and Mr Tangimana have been barred from standing for public office for at least five years.
Tonga has strict guidelines against any form of donation, including for charitable causes, within three months of an election being called.
Under Tonga's electoral laws, bribery findings typically require an MP to be "unseated" should the rulings be upheld.
There are other, more lenient penalties available under the electoral act including fines. However, that was unlikely after a precedent was set on the back of the 2021 general election when Poasi Tei, the former deputy Prime Minister of Tonga, and Sione Sangster Saulala, the Internal Affairs Minister, were found guilty of similar charges and unseated by the courts.
The Supreme Court had convicted Mr Sika for failing to declare around $A6,000 in payment to a dance academy, which prosecutors successfully argued in court was an attempt to influence voters.
Mr Sika also lost a more recent appeal against that court's decision.
He defended that the transaction error was an omission of "good faith" rather than a deliberate attempt to sway voters.
Family members of Mr Sika had previously attended the dance academy and the former MP also pleaded he had a long history of supporting similar community groups.
Mr Tangimana was charged for donating fish to several members of his constituency.
He had initially stood down as finance minister back in April, pending the charges being heard, while still remaining a MP.
There had been better news for the government after a third MP that was charged with bribery successfully won his appeal.
Taniela Fusimalohi, the representative for 'Eua 11, will remain in parliament after the Court of Appeal overturned the Supreme Court ruling that had found his election void over his bribery allegations.
It was alleged that Mr Fusimalohi provided Starlink internet satellite units to his constituency.
