Racheal Guttenbeil, Miss Tonga, is winning the hearts of voters, leading the race in the Miss Pacific Islands People’s Choice Award with a historic 115,000 votes as of 12.00 AM today, February 8th. That total number is more than the entire population of Tonga!
Even Princess Angelica Latūfuipeka Tuku’aho sent her a special message of support on social media.
This milestone set by Guttenbeil breaks the previous record of 42,000 votes set by Miss Samoa, Moemoana Schwenke, in 2023.
With less than 14 hours left before the voting closes, over 300,000 votes have been counted, the highest in the pageant’s history. The Miss Pacific Islands organization has urged supporters to keep voting for their favorite contestants.
“We are thrilled by the overwhelming enthusiasm and support from voters this year,” the organizers said.
“The excitement continues to grow, with more people tuning in to back their country’s representative. This is a testament to the influence of the Miss Pacific Islands platform.”
For the 2024 Digicel People’s Choice Award, Miss Tonga received 28,000 votes but Samoa’s Schwenke won the award with 14,000 more votes.
In 2023, Papua New Guinea’s Josie Nicholas took the People’s Choice Award with 13,000 votes, going on to win Miss South Pacific.
The countdown is on, with the final hours promising more surprises.
