The election is over; hard work begins in forming alliances and MPs – elect contest position of Premier

The people have spoken, the 20 members of parliament elect have been voted in and now its politicking time on the island as the 20 MPs-elect mobilize support,  battling it out on who will be elected as the Premier.

Members of Parliament – elect are now engaging in horse-trading ahead of the first sitting of the Legislative Assembly next week.

BCN News has been reliably informed that the MPs – elect have been holding series of meetings this week with discussions on who should be elected as the Premier of Niue and who will be elected as the Speaker of Niue’s Parliament.

There’s some division in views as to whether the members of the Assembly should elect the new Premier based on who gained the greatest number of votes from the public or based on seniority, one who has been in the game for long and has a strong support base in the Legislative Assembly.

Newcomer Richard Hipa who topped the polls as a common roll candidate is traditionally seen as the MP-elect who has gained the mandate of the people and has publicly stated that he will put forth his name for the Premiership.

In 2017, O’love Jacobsen topped the polls and contested the Premiership however Sir Toke Talagi, a common roll candidate was elected as Premier. It was the same case in 2014 with Stanley Kalauni topping the polls and contested the Premiership however lost to Sir Toke Talagi.

However, MPs elect for the respective 14 villages can also contest the leadership role of government.

Former Premier Young Vivian was elected from the village constituency of Hakupu. Former Premier Frank Fakaotimanava-Lui was also elected Premier from the village of Alofi north.

The largest village constituency in Niue is Alofi South where Dalton Tagelagi has been elected as their MP-elect placing him as another serious contender from the village constituencies for the position of Premier.

At this point in time it is unpredictable, we will just have to await the election result by the members as the Assembly sits for the first-time next Wednesday.