SUVA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Akilisi Pohiva was re-elected as Tonga's prime minister on Monday after narrowly beating his challenger -- former deputy prime minister Siaosi Sovaleni.
According to Matangi Tonga online, the island nation's leading news website, Pohiva won 14 votes in the 26-member Legislative Assembly, while Sovaleni received 12 in a secret ballot at Tonga's parliament.
Tonga's Interim Speaker Lord Tangi announced the results after he presented the results to King Tupou VI, who will officially appoint the prime minister on a date to be confirmed.
Pohiva, 76, was first elected as a member of parliament in 1987 and became Tonga's prime minister in 2014. He was removed from his post by King Tupou VI after the king dissolved the parliament on Aug. 24, but Pohiva's Democratic Party enjoyed a resounding victory in the Nov. 16 election by winning 14 of the 17 People's Representatives seats within the parliament.
The Legislative Assembly of Tonga has 26 members, in which 17 members are elected by the people, and the remaining 9 seats are elected by the 33 hereditary nobles of Tonga.
