SUVA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Polling stations across the island of Tonga opened on Thursday for the 2017 General Election to elect the 17 People's Representatives to the Legislative Assembly.
According to Matangi Tonga website reports, a total of 86 candidates, including more than 10 women, registered to contest for the 17 People's Representative seats in the parliament.
There were 59,003 registered voters by Thursday.
Polling opened until 04:00 p.m. local time on Thursday before it closes for the counting of the ballots.
A Commonwealth Observer Group of four arrived in Tonga on Nov. 9 to observe the island state's 2017 national parliamentary elections.
A report of the group will be released to the Commonwealth after they leave Tonga on Nov. 20, and the Commonwealth is expected to release copies to the public soon after.
Tonga's King had dissolved the country's parliament and called for fresh elections in August.
The process of forming Tonga's new government and choosing a prime minister following the general election, will start on or before Nov. 30, but may continue to mid-December.
