A governor general represents the British monarch as ceremonial head of state. The prime minister, chosen by Parliament, leads the government, thus the legitimacy of the presidential election depends in part on the conduct of parliamentary elections. Independent candidate Kausea Natano became prime minister after the September 2019 elections, which were considered free and fair. He defeated another independent, Enele Sopoaga, in a secret ballot, receiving 10 of the 16 ministers’ votes.

The unicameral House of Assembly has 16 members who are directly elected through contests in eight geographical constituencies, each of which are represented by two members. The attorney general has an advisory role and does not vote. In the September 2019 elections, all candidates ran as independents. Two women ran for seats in Parliament, though only the incumbent Puakena Boreham was elected. Each of the main inhabited islands in Tuvalu is also governed by an elected local council.

Tuvalu’s legal framework provides for democratic elections, and the laws are fairly and impartially implemented. An appointed secretary to the government is responsible for the supervision of elections and maintenance of voter rolls. Local polling officers are authorized to adjudicate election-related disputes in their districts, and there is a mechanism through which appeals may be filed. The September 2019 elections were accepted by all relevant stakeholders and constituencies.

There are no formal political parties, though no law bars their formation. Candidates typically run as independents and form loose, frequently shifting alliances once in office.

Tuvalu has an established pattern of democratic transfers of power. Individual prime ministers and governments have seldom lasted a full term in office in recent decades, with intense political rivalries sometimes prompting no-confidence votes in Parliament.

Traditional elders and the main Protestant church play an influential role in society, but they do not exercise undue control over the political choices of voters and candidates.

All Tuvaluans aged 18 and over who are present in the country on polling day but not imprisoned are eligible to vote. Politics are generally dominated by older, well-educated men. While women formally have full political rights, in practice their participation is somewhat inhibited by discriminatory and widespread biases. Two women ran in the 2019 parliamentary elections, and one of them (an incumbent) won a seat. A move to add two reserved seats for women was considered as part of a constitutional review process in 2018. No action appears to have been taken as of the end of 2019.

Tuvalu’s elected officials are able to develop and implement government policies and legislation without improper interference from any unelected entity. The country often receives funding from other countries and international entities to implement policies and programs. The Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank, and partner countries provide the country with grants, but there have been no reported concerns of undue influence on government.

In August 2019, the Tuvalu government reaffirmed its commitment to its relationship with Taiwan, which precludes any diplomatic ties with China, and thus any influence China might have on Tuvalu’s government. China’s influence has grown in the Pacific, which has raised concerns of undue influence on the independence of policymaking in several other countries in the region.

Corruption is not a severe problem in Tuvalu, and the country’s independent auditing and law enforcement bodies are generally effective in combating graft, though there have been some corruption scandals in recent years.

Tuvalu is among the countries included in a new initiative, led by New Zealand in cooperation with the United Nations, to strengthen anticorruption laws in the Pacific Island region.

Government operations and legislative processes are generally transparent, though there is no freedom of information law to guarantee and regulate public access to official records. While officials are legally obliged to disclose their assets and income, the rules are not consistently enforced, according to the US State Department.

In November 2019, the Tuvalu Parliament livestreamed government proceedings on social media for the first time. Information about changes in policy or circumstance in Tuvalu can take days to reach the body of the population, as well as the rest of the world; livestreaming parliamentary sessions sought to ameliorate these challenges.

In December 2020, the government announced plans to become a “paperless society,” by using blockchain technology to create a national digital ledger in which all public data would be stored.

The constitution provides for freedom of the press, and there are no reported restrictions on this right, though the small media market does not support independent domestic news outlets. The government operates a radio station and a national newspaper. Many residents use satellite dishes to access foreign programming. Internet coverage has grown somewhat in recent years, though access is largely limited to the main island, and is expensive, inconsistent, and limited everywhere else.

The constitution and laws provide for freedom of religion, and this right is generally respected in practice. A Protestant church, the Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu, has official status under the law, and about 97 percent of the population belongs to it. Cultural leaders are empowered to regulate local religious activities, and on smaller islands they sometimes discourage minority groups from proselytizing or holding public events.

Academic freedom is generally respected.

There are no significant restrictions on freedom of expression. The government does not improperly monitor personal communications or social media activity.

The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, and the government typically upholds this right in practice.

Freedom of association is respected. Nongovernmental organizations operate without interference, providing a variety of health, education, and other services.

Workers in the private sector have the right to organize unions, bargain collectively, and strike. Public-sector employees can join professional associations and engage in collective bargaining, but they are not permitted to strike. Most labor disputes are resolved through negotiations in practice. The only registered union represents seafarers.

The judiciary is independent. The chief justice is appointed by the head of state on the advice of the cabinet, and other judges are appointed in the same manner after consultation with the chief justice. Judges cannot be removed arbitrarily.

The authorities generally uphold due process during arrests, detentions, and trials. A public defense lawyer is available to detainees and defendants. However, the limited capacity of the legal system can lead to delays in court proceedings and access to counsel.

There were no reports of physical abuse by police or in the prison system during the year. Criminal activity does not pose a major threat to physical security.

While women generally enjoy equality before the law, discriminatory biases and social norms limit women’s role in society, and there are no specific legal protections against gender discrimination in employment.

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and can be punished with imprisonment, though the law is not actively enforced. Discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is not specifically banned.

There is no national legal framework for providing refuge to asylum seekers, nor were there any such applications reported in 2020.

Tuvaluans are free to travel within the country and abroad, and to relocate for purposes including employment and education. The country’s borders were closed to international travel in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The government implemented a strict, 14-day quarantine protocol for repatriation of citizens abroad, and similarly careful measures for repatriation of foreign citizens in Tuvalu. Commercial flights to the islands remained suspended at year’s end.

Tuvalu’s legal framework and government policies are generally supportive of property rights and private-business activity. However, laws and practices surrounding land ownership and inheritance favor men over women.

In June and July 2019, a dispute over a leasing agreement for the island’s airport escalated between landowners on the island Funafuti and the government. The landowners believed that the lease had expired after 25 years—in 2017—while the government claimed the original lease for the airport was set for 99 years. After landowners blockaded the runway, and the two parties went into negotiations, a case for the incident and dispute was filed in the High Court, which determined that the landowners had violated their lease agreement. Police were ordered to arrest anyone who interfered with flights, as the blockade was deemed to pose a “significant sovereign risk.”

Although personal social freedoms are generally respected, domestic violence often goes unreported because it is viewed as a private matter. There are no specific laws against spousal rape.

Forced labor is prohibited, and the government mandates basic protections against exploitative or dangerous working conditions, though enforcement is not proactive or consistent. Most of the labor force works in the informal sector or in small-scale fishing and agriculture. No law addresses forms of harmful or hazardous child labor, and the US State Department’s 2019 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, the most recent available, stated that there was evidence of child labor in the fishing industry and among domestic workers.

In 2018, Tuvalu created its first national human rights institution (NHRI) and will give the country’s ombudsman additional powers to promote and protect human rights on the island. The new NHRI was created to be aligned with the Paris Principles for independent and effective human rights institutions.