Coup claims as Samoa PM-elect locked out of parliament, Tuilapea refuses to cede power

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Fiame Naomi Mata'afa arrived at parliament ready to be appointed Samoa's first female prime minister, accompanied by judges in formal robes and horsehair wigs whose job was to witness her swearing in.
Instead, they were barred from entering the parliamentary chamber as police looked on while her supporters sang hymns and called for the results of an April 9 general election to be honored.
“We need brave Samoans right now...to uphold our election," Mata'afa told the crowd gathered in the parliamentary grounds.
After 22 years in office, incumbent Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has refused to relinquish power, even though the courts have confirmed Mata'afa secured a narrow one-seat majority in last month's vote.

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