The Tuvaluan constitutional crisis was a political dispute in Tuvalu between the government, led by Prime Minister Willy Telavi, and the opposition, led by Enele Sopoaga, that was precipitated by the death of the Minister of Finance, Lotoala Metia MP on 21 December 2012, which eliminated the government's majority. The dispute was eventually resolved in August 2013 by a motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Willy Telavi, following which Enele Sopoaga was elected Prime Minister.

Tuvalu is a parliamentary democracy. The head of state is the monarch of Tuvalu, who is the same person as the monarch of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms; at the time of the crisis, the monarch was Queen Elizabeth II. The monarch is represented by the Governor-General, who is appointed (or removed) by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, and to whom almost all of the monarch's duties are delegated. The Prime Minister is elected by the members of the Parliament, but it is within the Governor-General's reserve powers to unilaterally dismiss him.

The dispute began following the sudden death of the incumbent Member of Parliament for Nukufetau, Lotoala Metia, on 21 December 2012, resulting in both the government and opposition having seven representatives in Parliament. Despite protests from the opposition, the ministry of the Prime Minister Willy Telavi delayed a by-election for the seat by more than six months, until June 2013, when the High Court of Tuvalu ordered that the by-election be held within 28 days of the judgment. The decision was delivered by Senior Magistrate Afele Kitiona on behalf of Chief Justice Sir Gordon Ward.

The decision was delivered following two separate legal challenges by both the government and the opposition that sought to determine the minister who was responsible for allowing elections to take place. The ruling gave the opposition the necessary notices required to begin the by-election process in the constituency, which would allow them to gain a majority in parliament and, theoretically, pass a motion of no confidence in the government. Opposition member and lawyer Taukelina Finikaso said the following after the ruling: "We have certainly been working with our candidate and we are quietly confident we will be able to get through this by-election."

The by-election was eventually held on 28 June 2013 and opposition member Elisala Pita beat the government candidate Petely Niuatui by 537 votes to 264, giving the opposition an 8–7 majority over the government in the Tuvaluan Parliament.

The constitutional crisis continued as the Prime Minister announced that, under the Constitution of Tuvalu, he was only required to convene Parliament once a year, and was thus under no obligation to summon it until December 2013.

Tuvalu's opposition then requested the Governor-General Sir Iakoba Italeli to intervene against the Prime Minister's decision. On 3 July, Italeli exercised his reserve powers in ordering Parliament to convene, against the Prime Minister's wishes, on 30 July. Opposition member Finikaso said: "It looks like we have seen the end of the uncertainty that reigned in Tuvalu for the last six months." He continued by announcing that the opposition were planning to move a motion of no confidence in the incumbent prime minister and that they would put forward their candidate for the job.

In an attempt to avoid a vote of no confidence, Prime Minister Willy Telavi tabled a motion to dissolve Parliament, but this was subsequently defeated by the opposition by 8 votes to 5. In a further twist, just minutes later, the government's Health Minister, Taom Tanukale, announced he was resigning his post, helping to dwindle government numbers further from five to four, following Education Minister Falesa Pitoi's absence due to illness. Opposition member Finikaso described how the resignation 'shocked' parliament.