While the deadlock in Samoa’s Parliament was broken yesterday after a Supreme Court ruling, the Prime Minister-elect says it may not be the end of the saga.
Yesterday, Samoa’s Supreme Court ruled the appointment of an additional MP unconstitutional, giving newcomer Faatuatua i Le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (the FAST Party) the majority to form a Government.
It comes after a deadlock lasting more than a month, which saw the incumbent Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) and FAST tied at 26 seats each for the past few weeks.
Speaking on Breakfast this morning, FAST leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa said the court ruling came after a “very lengthy process”.
“We might still have other issues to confront,” Fiame said.
But, she added, the ruling at least “cleared the path” for the “due process” toward a final election result.
She expected the head of state to call Parliament to convene by Monday, the final day set out by Samoa’s constitution, because it marked 45 days after the April 9 election.
Any time leading up to that point, FAST would declare it had the majority of 26 seats in a letter to the Clerk of the House, which would then be passed on to the head of state, Fiame said.
She pledged FAST would bring Samoa’s democracy “back to normality”.
“When an administration [HRPP] has been there a long time, it becomes a different kind of animal than when it first started.”
Because HRPP had been in power for so long, and it could make laws while dominating Parliament, it saw “the capacity to abuse the power”, Fiame said.
She added: “It’s been slipping in that direction for a while now.”
It comes after a deadlock lasting more than a month.
Because there were whole generations of Samoans who didn’t know any other administration but the HRPP, the “biggest challenge” for FAST coming into power was “to remind people that this is a normal process” in a democracy, Fiame said.
She said people had been calling for some time to be more involved in their Government.
“The public service really needs to be independent, and politicians are representatives of the country who will bring in what is prioritised by the people at a particular point in time.”
How did Samoa get here?
General elections were held in Samoa on April 9.
On the scene were newcomers FAST, led by Fiame, who resigned as Deputy Prime Minister.
FAST sought to shift political power from the incumbent Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which had dominated Samoa’s Parliament for more than 40 years. Incumbent Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has been in power since 1998.
The voting count led to a stalemate, with FAST and HRPP winning 25 constituents each, leaving independent Tuala Iosefo Ponifasio as kingmaker.
Ponifasio opted to align with FAST, pushing its seat count up to 26.
However, HRPP argued it also had 26 seats, citing Samoa’s constitution that called for a minimum of 10 per cent of the positions in Parliament to be held by women. The additional seat was allocated to the party’s Aliimalemanu Alofa Tuuau, the female candidate who came closest to winning an electorate.
FAST mounted a legal challenge against the Electoral Commissioner for activating that part of the constitution. The Commissioner initially said there wasn’t a need to invoke the provision.
In another twist, earlier this month, Samoa's head of state Tuimalealiifano Va'aletoa Sualauvi II tried to call for a second election to break the deadlock. It announced all elected candidates from the first election void.
FAST said the head of state didn't have the constitutional power to call a new election yet. Fiame, citing constitutional protocol, said the head of state should call Parliament by the 45th day after the election. At this point, he would confirm whether a majority Government had been formed, or a deadlock remained.
Fiame had asked why the head of state hadn't waited for the Supreme Court's decision before acting.
Then, last week, Malielegaoi reportedly told the Samoa Observer he was "appointed by God" to lead the country, and the judiciary had no bearing on his appointment.
Yesterday, Samoa’s Supreme Court ruled the appointment of the additional MP was unconstitutional. This gave FAST a one-seat majority to form a Government.
In a second decision, also yesterday, the court said the head of state did not have the authority to ask for another election. It said the April election results were valid and ordered Parliament to convene before Monday, the 45th day after the election.
HRPP announced it was appealing both decisions. It’s on top of dozens of new election petitions filed by the HRPP against FAST candidates, the Samoa Observer reported.
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