Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga, Lord Fakafanua and Hon. Dulcie Tei.
THE Speaker of the Legislative Assembly today warmly welcomed the three newly elected Members of Parliament including the only elected female MP in Parliament, Hon. Dulcie Tei.
This morning Tongatapu 6 constituency MP - Hon. Dulcie Tei, Tongatapu 4 MP, Hon. Mateni Tapueluelu and the new MP of Tongatapu 7, Hon. Piveni Piukala took their oath in office to be loyal to the King and to abide by the law and the Constitution of Tonga.
Hon. Tei is the only female MP to be elected in the current parliamentary term. She is the 7th female parliamentarian to be elected to Parliament. Her election to Parliament makes it two female legislators in the House. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism Hon. Fekita ‘Utoikamanu is a non-elected MP, who was appointed under the constitutional powers of the Hon. Prime Minister.
Hon. Dulcie Tei replaces her husband, the former Deputy Prime Minister.
As the only female politician elected to Parliament, Dulcie Tei said she is very excited about her new role despite the challenges ahead.
Hon. Tei shares that being the wife of the former Deputy Prime Minister, familiar parliamentary surrounding and familiar people she meets have helped a lot to make her feel comfortable about her new job.
Retiring from teaching in 2009, Tongatapu 6 new MP also firmly believed, Tonga has so many female CEOs, therefore women are capable, and they need to rise up for they have great potential to make it into politics and in leadership positions.
She also shared that being a woman MP is very challenging in the sense that there are more male MPs in Parliament. However, Hon. Tei is confident that doing the right thing and delivering her best for the public and also her constituency is one of her priorities. Being a Christian also plays an important part in her role as a new MP.
“With my faith as a Christian, I firmly believe this is God’s calling for me to help raise and address issues of national importance for the development of Tonga including women issues.
I do believe with God’s help, I can do the right thing as women can handle anything that comes their way,” according to Hon. Dulcie Tei.
Dulcie Tei started primary school at Ngele’ia and Tatakamotonga, before continuing to Tonga High School for secondary education. She graduated with Bachelor in Education from the University of the South Pacific.
She was employed by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) as a teacher for so many years before retiring in 2009.