Tonga PM Sovaleni resigns ahead of no confidence vote, government says

SYDNEY - Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni has resigned "for the good of the country and moving Tonga forward", the Pacific Island nation's parliament said on Monday.

Media reported the resignation in parliament shortly before midday came ahead of a motion for a vote of no confidence expected to be put to the assembly.

"I'll be resigning immediately according to the constitution," Sovaleni told the Pacific nation's parliament, according to a report on the Matangi Tonga news website and a livestream of his speech.

Reuters could not immediately reach Sovaleni's office.

"Siaosi Sovaleni has voluntarily resigned as Tonga’s Prime Minister effective today," a statement on parliament's Facebook page said.

He would continue to serve as a member of parliament, and had told media he made the decision "for the good of the country and moving Tonga forward", it added.

King Tupou VI had accepted the resignation, and parliament would reconvene on Dec. 24 to consider nominations for prime minister, a statement from the parliament office said.

Sovaleni, who was also chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum regional bloc, had a tense relationship with the nation's monarch, apologising in March after a constitutional dispute.

(Reporting by Renju Jose and Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Stephen Coates)