Samoa In Crisis As PM-elect Sworn In By Mata'afa Keni Lesa 05/24/21 AT 4:01 AM Fiame Naomi Mata'afa was sworn in as Samoa's first woman prime minister at an extraordinary makeshift tent ceremony Monday, after the islands' long-serving ruler refused to cede power and locked the doors of parliament. The ad-hoc swearing-in is sure to face a legal challenge and will only deepen a severe political crisis in the South Pacific nation following a contested April 9 election. Prime minister of 22 years Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi lost that vote but has so far refused to step aside, prompting allegations of a constitutional coup. Mata'afa arrived for a sitting of parliament early Monday accompanied by judges in formal robes and horsehair wigs and expecting to be sworn in.