The passing of democratic reforms in Tonga has been delayed with MPs disagreeing over a government proposal that candidates would have to reside in their electorates for five months ahead of the election.
An early poll is planned for November when there is likely to be a popular vote for 17 MPs, up from the present nine.
The government's latest proposal comes as it pushes for single seat electorates that will attach outlying islands to the main island of Tongatapu, where up to ten of the seats are likely to be located.
Our correspondent, Mateni Tapueluelu, says the pro-democracy MPs are strongly opposed to planned residency requirement.
"There was a heated debate yesterday with prominent promoter of democracy, Akilisi Pohiva, arguing that it is divide and rule because the bill does not apply to the nobility. It's simply singling out the representatives and dividing them to small pocket sized electorates and making sure they stay within their boundaries."
Mateni Tapueluelu says the government also wants a five-fold increase in the non-refundable registration fee candidates need to pay.
