It was triggered by incumbent MP Apisai Ielemia's dismissal from the seat by court order.
In May 2016, he was convicted for corruption and abuse of office, having been found to have accepted approximately 19,000 AUS $ from "Japanese and Taiwanese interests" into his personal bank account between late 2009 and mid-2010, when he had been prime minister.
[1] He appealed successfully against his conviction, but was not permitted to resume his seat in Parliament, as Speaker Otinielu Tausi issued a ruling that he was no longer qualified to sit.
Upon judicial review of that ruling, Chief Justice Charles Sweeney found:[2] "When The Hon.
Apisai Ielemia commenced to serve his sentence on 6 May 2016, he became a person who was then disqualified from being elected as a member of Parliament".