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Samoa opposition claims majority after court ruling
APIA, Samoa, May 17, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Samoa’s opposition said it had the majority needed to form a government Monday after the Pacific island nation’s top court struck down the election of a government lawmaker, potentially ending a five-week deadlock.
The fledgling opposition FAST Party said the Supreme Court decision opened the way for its leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa to become Samoa’s first ever female prime minister.
If the ruling stands, it will give FAST a one-seat majority over the incumbent HRPP party, which until the April 9 general election had ruled Samoa virtually unchallenged for decades.
“The unanimous verdict reached by a panel of justices of the Supreme Court on Monday now gives the Faatuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) Party the majority to form government with 26 seats to their rivals, the Human Rights Protection Party’s 25,” it said on social media.
After the election, FAST won support from an independent lawmaker to gain 26 seats, which it believed gave it a majority.
But election officials then awarded the HRPP an extra seat, saying it was needed to meet a constitutional requirement setting out the minimum quota of women in parliament.
As the constitutional crisis dragged on, officials called another election for May 21, prompting the opposition to claim the government was trying to retain power through “trickery”.
The court ruling on Monday found the appointment of the government’s extra female lawmaker was unconstitutional and invalid.
There was no immediate response from the government or Samoa’s electoral commission.
Another court ruling is expected later Monday on whether the snap election, due to be held this Friday, will proceed.
The HRPP has been in power since 1982, apart from a brief coalition period in 1986-87, and Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has held the top job for 22 years.
Samoa, which has a population of 220,000, gained independence in 1962 after nearly 50 years as a New Zealand protectorate.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0848 hrs