A number of new faces have made it into Tonga’s parliament in Thursday’s general election.

Among them are auditor general Pohiva Tu’ionetoa, whose outspoken approach prompted the government to try and remove him, and Siaosi Sovaleni, who was the chief executive of Tonga’s Ministry of Public Enterprises.

Veteran pro-democracy campaigner Akilisi Pohiva has easily won his Tongatapu 1 seat and former finance minister, Aisake Eke, took his No 5 with the highest number of votes cast.

But the Democrats got just seven of the 10 seats on the main island and their hopes of a popularly elected government in Tonga for the first time will rest on coalitions with the likes of Siaosi Sovaleni.

Mateni Tapueluelu, the journalist and former correspondent for this radio station, won while his father, Semisi, a first time MP last election, was defeated.

The nobles also held their vote yesterday and there is just one change in their nine seats from 2010 with Lord Tuiha’agana replacing Lord Fakafanua in Ha’apai.