TONGA

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (AMENDMENT) ACT 2021 

Act 21 of 2021

Arrangement of Sections 
Section 
1 Short Title and Interpretation 
2 Section 7 amended 
 
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY ACT 
I assent, 
TUPOU VI,  
28th October 2021. 
 
BE IT ENACTED by the King and Legislative Assembly of Tonga in the Legislature of the Kingdom as follows: 
1	Short Title and Interpretation 
(1) This Act may be cited as the Legislative Assembly (Amendment) Act 2021. 
(2) In this Act, the Legislative Assembly Act, as amended, shall be referred to as "the Principal Act".  
2	Section 7 amended  
The Principal Act is amended by deleting section 7 and replacing it with the following –  
	"7 Absence  
	(1) If any representative shall be absent from the Legislative Assembly for more than 3 consecutive calendar months, or for a period of 2 weeks during the session of the Legislative Assembly without the leave of the Speaker, his seat in the Legislative Assembly shall thereupon become vacant and his successor shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of section 6. 
	(2) Any Member having been unseated in accordance with section 7(1) of this Act shall not be nominated as a candidate at the election of his successor. 
	(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Legislative Assembly upon the recommendation of the Speaker may permit absence of a member for a further period of up to 3 consecutive calendar months, but the Legislative Assembly may not permit the member to be absent for any period exceeding 6 consecutive months.". 

Passed by the Legislative Assembly this 26th day of August 2021.