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July 26, 2021 12:59:55 am
The Court of Appeal of Samoa on Friday ruled that the Faatuatua ile Atua ua Tasi (FAST) (‘Samoa United in Faith’) political party was the official winner of April’s national election, thus confirming the party’s leader, Fiame (honorary title) Naomi Mata’afa, as the country’s first female prime minister.
Mata’afa won the majority in the April 2021 election but defeated Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi refused to accept Mata’afa’s victory. Malielegaoi’s refusal to leave office lead to a constitutional crisis when Head of State Tuimalealiifano Va’aletoa Sualauvi II for unknown reasons issued a proclamation preventing Parliament from meeting to resolve the issue. Samoa’s attorney general requested the Samoa Supreme Court revoke the proclamation, but Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese rejected the request.
The attorney general had attempted to have newcomer FAST party s challenge dismissed.
Samoa s Supreme Court
Photo: RNZ Pacific / Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia
The FAST (Fa atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi) party, which is caught in a 26-seat deadlock with the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), is challenging the electoral commissioner s decision to add the unelected seat, which went the way of the caretaker HRPP government, creating the impasse.
The constitution provides that 10 percent of parliament s seats be reserved for women, but it also specifies that that is five seats. This is the crux of the argument the election saw five women elected, or 9.8 percent.