The gals behind Samoa s first woman PM pina.com.fj - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pina.com.fj Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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.
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On the morning of Monday 24 May, Samoa’s chief justice arrived at the country’s parliament to swear in a new government, only to find the doors firmly locked. He stood momentarily, then turned around and walked back to the courthouse, followed by the entire judiciary.
It was a moment that would stay with me: 45 days after Samoa’s general election – the deadline for swearing in a new government – it was confirmation that the country’s caretaker government had disregarded the highest legal authority of the land in order to prevent a peaceful transition of power.