'Aisake Valu Eke, a former minister of finance, is expected to lead the Pacific nation until elections in November 2025.
Tonga has elected a new leader in a secret parliamentary election, two weeks after the sudden departure of the prime minister he resignedfollowing a struggle for power with the royal family of the Pacific nation.
Veteran politician 'Aisake Valu Eke got 16 votes to his opponent Viliami Latu's eight in Tuesday's polls.
Valu Eke, who will be officially sworn in as prime minister in February, was appointed minister of law in 2010 and served as minister of finance between 2014 and 2017.
He will be in office less than a year before the South Pacific island nation of 105,000 people holds its elections in November 2025.
Tonga's parliament has 17 elected members and nine honorary members, elected by a group of hereditary chiefs. Two Members of Parliament were unable to vote.
Siaosi Sovaleni stepped down as prime minister two weeks ago, after falling out with Tonga's popular king, Tupou VI, which raised suspicions. growth split between the king and his government.
The Oxford-educated Sovaleni, who was prime minister from 2021, resigned hours before facing a no-confidence vote led by Eke. A statement posted on Tonga's parliament's Facebook page said the prime minister resigned “for the good of the country and for the betterment of Tonga”.
Sovaleni's rule has been characterized by periodic conflicts between the Tongan monarchy and elected parliamentarians in the young democracy that changed in 2010 to shift power from the royal family and nobility to ordinary citizens.
Tonga changed its constitution after pro-democracy protests in 2006 led to riots that left the capital, Nuku'alofa, in smoking ruins.
King Tupou VI, the head of state of Tonga, has extensive powers, including the power to dissolve parliament, appoint judges, and veto laws.
Tourism-dependent Tonga has struggled to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, growing threats from climate change and a 2022 volcanic eruption and tsunami, which destroyed coastal resorts, homes and businesses around the country's 171 islands.
The debt-ridden island kingdom owes China's export bank about $130m – about a third of its gross domestic product – which was borrowed to help rebuild after the 2006 riots. The debt repayments are due to start ramping up this year.