Samoa’s electoral commissioner Toleafoa Tuiafelolo Alexander Stanley told the media the official count kicks off on Monday then next Friday is when official results are expected.

The election, described as the most unpredictable in Samoa’s history, had no clear favourite going in given the governing party had split into two factions, leading to the collapse of caretaker Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa’s minority government.

Unofficial results showed Fiame’s former FAST Party in the lead and HRPP not far behind as of last night.

• READ MORE: Other Samoan general election reports

Preliminary election results are still trickling in for Samoa’s snap election.

Fiame’s newly established SUP Party was trailing behind both.

Electoral Commissioner’s update
Results will only be made official when the Head of State issues the writ.

Prepolling and special votes will be counted today.

Voter turnout was not able to be determined as of last night.

There were more than 100,000 eligible voters expected to take part in election 2025.

Toleafoa said counting was done manually.

A mini server has been used to resolve issues that cropped up in the last election.

“O Le fa’aogaga o Le channel, ma Le mea lea e Ta’u o Le Mac box it’s really a mini server o Le solution lea ga fai lea e sao ai faafikauli lea ga Kupu I Le paloka 2021 e le’i iai se Mac box, faamoemoe ā I numbers foi ga le, ga faamoemoe I le kalagoa ai,” Toleafoa told the media late last night.

His words have been translated: “The use of the channel and this thing called Mac box it’s really mini server for the solution from what happened in 2021 there was no Mac box we relied on numbers manually to communicate”.

“No one can vote twice. For example, if someone voted in one constituency and then went to another the service would pick it up and flag it.

“That is why it will take a week [next week] to fully count,” Toleafoa said.

Voting is compulsory in Samoa and the Electoral Commission has said people in line at close of polling were allowed to vote.

However, they had warned anyone registered to vote who did not cast their ballot would face penalties.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Its official. Samoa’s Parliament will be dissolved next week and the country will have an early return to the polls.

The confirmation comes after a dramatic day in Parliament on Tuesday, which saw the government’s budget voted down at its first reading.

In a live address today, Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa confirmed the dissolution of Parliament.

• READ MORE: Samoan PM Fiamē advises dissolution of parliament, calls for snap elections
• Other Samoa politics reports

“Upon the adjournment of Parliament yesterday, I met with the Head of State and tendered my advice to dissolve Parliament,” she said.

Fiame said that advice was accepted, and the Head of State has confirmed that the official dissolution of Parliament will take place on Tuesday, June 3.

According to Samoa’s constitution, an election must be held within three months of parliament being dissolved.

Fiame reassured the public that constitutional arrangements are in place to ensure the elections are held lawfully and smoothly.

Caretaker mode
In the meantime, she said the government would operate in caretaker mode with oversight on public expenditure.

“There are constitutional provisions governing the use of public funds by a caretaker government,” she said.

“Priority will be given to ensuring that the machinery of government continues to function.”

She also took a moment to thank the public for their prayers and support during this time.

Despite the political instability, Fiame said Samoa’s 63rd Independence Day celebrations would proceed as planned.

The official programme begins with a Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, June 1, at 6pm at Muliwai Cathedral.

This will be followed by a flag-raising ceremony on Monday, June 2, in front of the Government Building at Eleele Fou.

The dissolution of Parliament brings to an end months of political instability which began in January.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Samoa’s Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, has sacked the Attorney-General, Savalenoa Mareva Betham Annandale, effective immediately.

The government suspended the Attorney-General and the Clerk of Parliament two weeks ago, saying it did not have trust or confidence them.

The prime minister said she also did not accept Savalenoa’s submission that neither she nor the Head of State have the legal authority to suspend or dismiss the Attorney-General.

• READ MORE: Other reports on Samoan democracy

Savalenoa suggested that the prime minister could not make such a decision because having been the subject of some of the court cases decided over the last few months, Fiame was subject to bias.

The Attorney-General also requested more time to provide a response to the reasons set out by the prime minister who is the Minister for the AG’s office.

But in a statement, the prime minister said she had not accepted Savalenoa’s submissions.

“I do not accept that an Attorney-General cannot be removed from office. Every person who holds public office in Samoa holds that office on trust from the people of Samoa.”

“For the Attorney-General, as adviser to the executive government, that means having the trust and confidence of the government,” she said.

Fiame has advised the Head of State to appoint senior lawyer Su’a Hellen Wallwork to take the acting AG position for 3 to 6 months while the process of appointing a new Attorney-General is carried out.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

It would be an understatement to say that we are stunned to see that the Human Rights Protection Party leader Tuila’epa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi now alleges the New Zealand Prime Minister plotted his removal from office.

This is beginning to sound really weird coming from a former prime minister, especially one who has spent over two decades in the top seat of Samoa’s government, and is supposed to be cognisant with how democratic governments function or are supposed to function before and after a general election.

However, we’ve grown accustomed in recent weeks to how Tuila’epa has been reacting to his party’s defeat in April’s general election, and his caretaker administration’s removal from office by the Court of Appeal last month.

• READ MORE: Sāmoa’s defeated Tuila’epa launches attack on NZ’s Jacinda Ardern

And his finger pointing has been spectacular to say the least: starting with the judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal to the Chief Justice, His Honour Satiu Sativa Perese; to the former Attorney-General Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu and her husband and lawyer George Latu; and the former Head of State, His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi.

But the latest one, with Tuila’epa accusing the head of a foreign government of plotting his government’s downfall based on a feminist agenda to install Fiame Naomi Mata’afa as Samoa’s first female prime minister, takes the cake.

Appearing in a TV1 programme on Sunday night, the former prime minister said he always had suspicions about the involvement of New Zealand, and its leader Jacinda Ardern, in Samoa’s election.

“The government [of New Zealand] has been heavily involved,” he said during the televised programme.

“It got me thinking about a lot of the things that have happened recently.

“It looks like the New Zealand Prime Minister wanted Samoa to have a female prime minister.

“Which has blinded her [Jacinda Ardern] from seeing if it’s something that is in line with our constitution.”

Tuilaepa’s evidence? Ardern’s congratulatory message to Fiame immediately after the Court of Appeal ruling last month, which happened too fast for the 76-year-old veteran politician’s liking.

“The proof is, as soon as the decision was handed down, the Prime Minister of New Zealand immediately sent her congratulatory message.

“The way I see the whole scenario, it looks like a concert they have worked on for a long time.

“The fact that she quickly sent Fiame her well wishes makes me think that they had planned all of this.”

So did the New Zealand Prime Minister have to wait a day, a week or a month before sending Fiame her congratulatory message?

In fact, with Samoa in recent months engulfed in a constitutional crisis — a result of Tuilaepa’s illegal actions supported by various state actors — the timing of Ardern’s congratulatory message was perfect.

At that time esteemed members of the judiciary were under attack, and the former Prime Minister and his cronies were on the verge of usurping the powers of the courts, and thus creating a case for the international community to intervene.

Therefore, the recognition of Fiame and the Court of Appeal’s ruling that installed her Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) government was critical, in order to assure Samoan citizens and the world that the rule of law would prevail despite the months-long trepidations.

And Ardern’s congratulatory message did just that: it restored confidence in the judiciary and the rule of law in Samoa.

So did Tuilaepa conveniently forget that his party doomed themselves at April’s polls by bulldozing through draconian laws that restructured the judiciary last year despite public opposition; opted to endorse multiple candidates under the party banner; chose to overlook the significance of social media-focused campaigning; and downplayed the campaign strategy of the FAST party?

Hence there is much more to the congratulatory messages from the New Zealand Prime Minister and other world leaders and international organisations, following the court’s installation of the FAST government.

It is an acknowledgement by the international community of the evolution of Samoa’s democracy, noting that while there could be bumps along the way, but with functioning institutions of governance such as a robust justice system we have the ability to pick ourselves up and continue the journey.

Accordingly, the claim by the former Prime Minister of a plot against him by a group of feminist leaders, can be added to the growing list of conspiracy theories Tuila’epa himself has concocted since his exit from power.

But the problem with conspiracy theories is they continue to be spread and if repeated become validated.

The fact that the senior membership of the HRPP has stood by and watched, without lifting a finger to question Tuila’epa’s misinformation, says a lot about the current state of the party.

In fact the 42-year-old party’s failure to censure its leader makes them equally responsible and complicit for the spreading of misinformation, relating to April’s general election and the crisis that followed.

And lest we forget the caution against misinformation by the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw: “Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”

Samoa Observer editorial on 26 August 2021. Republished with permission.

Sāmoa’s defeated prime minister Tuila’epa Sailele has fired a verbal blast at Aotearoa New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, saying she had been blinded by an obsession to ensure a female prime minister led the Pacific nation.

He also attacked Aotearoa Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and the governing New Zealand Labour Party, saying they had interferred in the political affairs of independent Sāmoa.

In a lengthy and strange statement Tuila’epa also suggested The Pacific Newsroom had been part of what he terms a “bloodless coup” by Prime Minister Faimē Naomi Mata’afa and her Faʻatuatua i le Atua Sāmoa ua Tasi (FAST) Party.

• READ MORE: Other Samoan elections drama reports
• Tuila’epa criticises FAST legal adviser Taulapapa

The Human Rights Protection Party-issued statement said Tuila’epa was deeply disappointed over the New Zealand government role.

“This blind obsession with the advent of a woman PM for the first time in Samoa’s political history has blinded Prime Minister Ardern’s judgment in the exercise of caution when it comes to Samoan politics, which is always fraught with a deep and complex culture — that much more lies beneath the surface,” the statement said.

“In brief, the change of government on 23 July 2021 completed a bloodless coup, with the judiciary taking the lead.”

Tuila’epa described as “mind boggling” how Mahuta carried out “numerous verbal negative attacks” on him in the media. Her comments amounted to interfering with the government’s policies and he had taken that up with New Zealand High Commissioner Trevor Matheson.

‘Unprecedented haste’
Tuila’epa said he also discussed the New Zealand government’s “unprecedented haste to congratulate the FAST government leadership despite the alarms we had raised”.

He claimed there had been an “unprecedented and immediate grant of aid funding in excess of NZ$14 million, (publicly broadcast by government) almost immediately after the appointment of the FAST government by our Court of Appeal — albeit the first grant of its kind since the last 40 years of HRPP’s government.”

It was unbelievable and reflected New Zealand’s “bad judgment”.

Tuila’epa found evidence of conspiracy in The Pacific Newsroom’s July 13 interview with FAST lawyer Taulapapa Brenda Heather.

He called her “the de facto FAST Head of State”. In that interview, the September 20 summoning of Parliament was mentioned, and Tuila’epa saw this as significant: “Was this also an indirect notice through to Wellington?”

He said members of Parliament had yet to receive notices on the date.

The new government this month appointed five New Zealand judges to hear cases, and Tuila’epa said this was unavoidable but raised the question of who was to pay.

‘Unhealthy developments’
“With all these unhealthy developments, we believe the Labour government was fully aware of the nature of Samoa’s political impasse through the constant flow of reports from the NZ High Commission office in Apia,” Tuila’epa said.

“Given the years of experience of the complexity of Samoan politics, through our association of over 107 years and a Treaty of Friendship, what can NZ do to help a former Trust Territory rather than openly supporting a government that is so tainted by numerous irregularities?”

Tuila’epa said he was issuing a call to the United Nations, the Commonwealth and all friendly governments “for any legal remedies to sort out the legal mess we are in, before this country of peace loving Samoan citizens degenerates to anarchy”.

Michael Field is an author and co-publisher of The Pacific Newsroom. He is also a specialist on Sāmoa. This article is republished with permission. Asia Pacific Report collaborates with The Pacific Newsroom.

It has become obvious in recent weeks that the strategy of Samoa’s oldest political party is to “repeat a lie long enough that it becomes the truth”.

And these untruths have been disbursed through multiple platforms: television, radio and social media as well as through protest marches and vehicle convoys.

It explains why the former prime minister and Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) leader, Tuila’epa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi and his party deputy, Fonotoe Pierre Lauofo, have been on air lately, as part of a party-led crusade to disparage the judiciary, following the Appellate Court’s decision last month to install the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) government.

• READ MORE: Sāmoa’s defeated PM using civil unrest in bid to seize back Parliament

Last week the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration (MJCA) felt compelled to set the record straight — in the face of a slew of misinformation by the HRPP leadership recently — on the 23 July 2021 judgment of the Appellate Court and where the court views the position of the Head of State in relation to the Constitution.

Perhaps, the former prime minister needs to be reminded again of the position that the Head of State occupies under the Constitution, as laid out by the Appellate Court’s ruling:

“It may not be a well-known fact that the Head of State, except as otherwise provided in the Constitution, has no option but to comply with the advice of the Cabinet or the Prime Minister; such advice is deemed to be accepted by the Head of State after a period of 7 days.

“Respectfully, the Head of States authority is to do what he is told to do by Cabinet or the Prime Minister as his responsible Minister.

“He is like everyone else, a servant of the Constitution, not its Master.”

— (Paragraph 60 of the court’s decision notes.)

So aren’t we blessed that our forefathers foresaw what could come many years later — when a sitting prime minister could have illegally used a Head of State to usurp the powers of the Constitution — and therefore drafted in the provisions to ensure the Head of State remains subservient to the Cabinet or the Prime Minister (not a caretaker cabinet or caretaker prime minister) at all times?

One thing we know for sure is Tuila’epa and Fonotoe have been cherry-picking the courts’ judgments to suit their party’s political agenda, which is why the MJCA felt the need to release a statement last week to point out the role of the courts as the guardians of the Constitution.

So what is the endgame for these two notable politicians, one a former prime minister and the other a former deputy prime minister, as they persist in churning out flawed interpretations of the court’s judgement?

We ask this question because both have reached the highest echelons of political power in Samoa, one as a prime minister and the other deputy prime minister, and basked in the glory that came with their terms in office including the triumphs of successive HRPP governments over the years.

Speaking on TV1 Samoa’s Good Morning Samoa programme on Wednesday, Fonotoe claimed “Samoa is slipping into a failed state” and then unleashed a barrage of untruths on how the judiciary is “causing the erosion of the Constitution” and “effectively putting itself above Parliament” on the televised show.

And this is from a politician who has practised as a lawyer and made submissions as a barrister before the same court, which he and party boss continue to disrespect to this very day with their Machiavellian commentary, following their party’s loss at the April general election.

But then how can Samoa be a failed state when the international community immediately stepped forward with congratulatory messages for the FAST government and Samoa’s first female Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa after the Appellate Court handed down its 23 July 2021 ruling?

The international community showed total confidence in the ability of our judiciary to rule without fear or favour to resolve the three-month-long constitutional crisis, and this was demonstrated by their acceptance of the court’s judgement.

Therefore, the call by Tuilaepa for the international community to assist “restore Samoa’s democracy to where it should be” appears to be at best tongue-in-cheek, consigned to the annals of Samoan political history.

How can he be taken seriously as a leader on the international stage when history now shows how him and his party members tried to manipulate the Constitution to prolong their illegal tenure in office?

Nonetheless the highest court in the land has spoken, let’s respect the wisdom of its judgement and enable the new government to get on with the job of governing, and delivering on its promises to the people of this nation.

If you haven’t noticed storm clouds have been gathering recently and the people want their government to be ready to tackle these challenges, so if you have nothing positive to contribute, then it is in the public’s interest that you step aside and let those who’ve been given the mandate to lead take charge.

This Samoa Observer editorial was published on 13 August 2021. It is republished with permission.

Sāmoa’s defeated prime minister is plotting civil unrest that will climax when a new Legislative Assembly holds its first meeting next month since April’s elections, says leading lawyer Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu.

She and her husband George Latu act for the election winning Faʻatuatua i le Atua Sāmoa ua Tasi (FAST) Party led by Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa.

FAST defeated the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) and its leader and former premier Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi who now refuses to accept the result.

• READ MORE: NZ reaffirms support for Samoa’s Fiame, as Tuila’epa grumbles
• Samoa welcomes five temporary judges from NZ
• Other Sāmoan democracy reports

Failing to win in the courts, Taulapapa said he was building up to a crescendo of unrest for the September 20 parliamentary opening.

She said he could be stopped by jailing him on serious charges which could include treason.

Taulapapa said there was currently HRPP intimidation of judges and lawyers, a police force unable to stop it and sabotage within the Tuila’epa controlled civil service, all aimed at returning the defeated prime minister to office.

Taulapapa had, up until 2006, worked extensively with Tuila’epa when he was prime minister for 23 years.

Parallel with Trump
In a Zoom meeting with The Pacific Newsroom, Taulapapa drew a parallel between Tuila’epa’s election defeat and that of last November’s defeat of US President Donald Trump.

Tuila’epa’s failed efforts to overturn Sāmoa’s election have left him vulnerable: “He lost the elections, he’s lost in court, and sadly the only thing I think that is left, is to create civil unrest and that is absolutely what he is doing now,” Taulapapa said.

“It is almost Trump, the Pacific edition….

“Even more so because on Monday he called all members of HRPP to go to Mulinu’ū when parliament is convened on September 20 … there can be only one reason to do that….”

She said Tuila’epa had the opportunity to end the turmoil.

“If he does not do that voluntarily then what will end this will be, being imprisoned.”

Events were moving fast.

‘Building up to a crescendo’
“It is building up to a crescendo and I am not sure what that will be but it is definitely building up to something happening. We have got him doubling down, we have him on TV1, which is the HRPP channel, every night now and he is also coming on the Good Morning Show. He has really ramped it up since the decision came out and plans for more rallies and marches.”

An example of his strategy, and the risks, came last week when Tuila’epa led a HRPP group to Savai’i. They were resisted by locals who objected to their presence on the island.

“My big concern now,” Taulapapa said, “is that he is actively creating civil unrest which if you contrast that with the four months waiting for court decisions, people were patient and were respectful of the court, and now after the decision has come out, you have a leader creating this stuff, four months after the general election.”

Plotting illustrated the desperation of a 76-year-old man who was not getting the message that he had been defeated.

“It isn’t anything more than that… There is a reason you shouldn’t don’t stay so long. It’s true power corrupts but also corrupts your judgment… he basically will not accept the fact that he lost the elections.”

Taulapapa Heather-Latu has been a prominent legal figure in Sāmoa since 1997 when she was appointed Attorney-General under HRPP Prime Minister Tofilau Eti who was succeeded by Tuila’epa the following year.

She gained a vivid insight into HRPP corruption when, with George Latu, she prosecuted two cabinet ministers and one of their sons for the 1999 assassination of Works Minister Luagalau Levaula Kamu.

Acting for FAST
Following criticism from Tuila’epa, she resigned in 2006 and set up her own law firm and this year has been acting for FAST. This gave her a decisive role on May 24 when Fiamē and her party were locked out of Parliament by HRPP Speaker Leaupepe Toleafoa Fa’afisi to prevent them being sworn in as MPs.

Under Taulapapa’s direction, a swearing in ceremony was instead staged in a tent outside parliament, subsequently recognised in the Court of Appeal.

Comparisons between Tuila’epa and Trump have drawn protests from observers but Taulapapa said there was obvious similarity.

“You have someone who is the author of his own misfortune,” she said, pointing to Tuila’epa’s behaviour last year when he pushed three controversial but unnecessary bills through the Legislative Assembly.

The legislation was the Constitution Amendment Bill, the Land and Titles Bill and the Judicature Bill.

Tuila’epa chose to insult his then deputy, Fiamē, in the assembly and unnecessarily prolonged parliament late last year.

One result was that HRPP formally had 20 seats on Savai’i but following the elections 18 had gone to FAST.

‘Master strategist – so past it’
Tuila’epa was “prideful about being the master political strategist, and he is so past it,” Taulapapa said.

And within HRPP after the election defeat “absolutely no squeak from HRPP about accountability, why did we lose?” HRPP itself was “comatose and about to slip into oblivion.”

The defeated prime minister produced his own disaster: “He is belligerent, he is bombastic, he is abusive, so when he prolonged Parliament, instead of the normal 10 days, he prolonged it five weeks at the end of the year.

“Most old people have their radios on Parliament when it is sitting, and they were treated to five weeks of unmitigated abuse. For a lot of older people, like my aunties and uncles in Savai’i, they basically said … too much, too revolting, too yuk and time for a change.”

At the elections he let multiple HRPP candidates run against each other in electorates.

When the result initially came in as 26 HRPP and 26 FAST members he blundered again by claiming that a constitutional requirement on the number of women in the assembly had not been met. So he put another HRPP woman into Parliament.

“He goes to the nuclear option and the first one is to administratively add another MP and the second nuclear option was that he basically advised the Head of State (Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa) to call fresh elections …, got him to cancel the results of a general election, run a new one in two weeks but with a whole lot of changes that would limit your ability to vote,” Taulapapa said.

Multiple candidates
“And then he used that to get all his multiple candidates to resign, to withdraw.”

Then came a series of court cases in which rulings favoured FAST.

Tuila’epa and HRPP kept violating court rulings and, as the weeks rolled over, his members became more intimidating toward the courts and the judges. These actions have led to Tuila’epa facing contempt of court charges.

In the crime tariff, contempt can be a relatively light offence, and Taulapapa said there were considerations of bringing the more serious charge of scandalising the court.

At one point Tuila’epa accused Taulapapa and her husband of treason for the way they were acting for FAST and swearing in its members.

A treason charge has to consist of a series of overt acts which individually may not be a crime but which if proven can establish the offence of treason.

Possible treason pointers
Pacific Newsroom asked Taulapapa whether the defeated prime minister’s behaviour could point to possible treason: “Absolutely, absolutely. Currently FAST, our clients, filed contempt proceedings so they are live, they will be added to next week because there have been almost daily instances of calling the court crooked and everything.”

Taulapapa said she was not satisfied with the police force attitude which she characterised as detached and disinterested.

“When you are facing people that keep naming the judges on the appeal, keep naming lawyers involved particularly George and I, that keep putting their pictures on HRPP pages, then it suggests to me that he is inviting someone to do us harm.”

The former leader was burning bridges and no one was trying to restrain him.

“Everybody is a sycophant, everybody else is yes sir, no sir,” she said.

“There is a real element of the cultish leader where even people that were reasonable and respected members of our community are sitting around him, nodding and laughing, and that is disturbing. These are people who otherwise you believe would be reasonable and balanced and wise.”

In the last decade Tuila’epa would not accept advice and made appointments to office based on obedience and family association.

Debilitating behaviour
For Fiamē and FAST, the behaviour was debilitating.

“She is getting attacked from the outside, and then having problems establishing her government inside, in the public service.”

Many of the public servants were related to the defeated prime minister, including senior officials in Treasury, Revenue and the Audit Office. They are blocking FAST attempts to get the budget under control.

“So you have active, aggressive opposition from key officials.”

Fiamē had written to the HRPP appointed Attorney-General Savalenoa Mareva Betham about the abuses and challenges from HRPP on the judiciary, but nothing had come from her.

“I would absolutely call it sabotage.”

Taulapapa pointed to the Ministry of Revenue where, on Monday, the chief executive Matafeo Viali-Fautua’alii unilaterally introduced a 10 percent capital gains tax with no notice.

Major transactions
Suddenly major transactions were having 10 percent added on top of them, ranging from matai registration to large mortgage and land transfers. The new government was not consulted.

“That has caused incredible knock on effects commercially because, of course, people only got mortgages for a particular amount … but it also exposes the government to risk.’
Sāmoa society tended to move in a communal way and the three bills in parliament had seen a mass split from HRPP and a large block went to FAST which had risen rapidly.

In the process Tuila’epa was destroying his “great legacy of developments”.

Every day he was undermining his reputation, Taulapapa said.

“Yesterday he came on TV and said, ‘where the hell are New Zealand and Australia, why aren’t they doing something about how the judiciary has stolen Parliament’,” she said. “Well they did say something, they said congratulations on winning the elections.”

Taulapapa said there was a role in the current crises for Australia, New Zealand and multilateral bodies.

“We have never had a transition in our history, really, and so we need technical support so that we can bring in people like forensic auditors and former state services commissioners because there is going to be a need for reprogramming. Things are personal that is why I mentioned cults.

“There is almost a personal emotional attachment to this man,” Taulapapa said.

Michael Field is an author and co-publisher of The Pacific Newsroom. He is also a specialist on Sāmoa. This article is republished with permission.

The New Zealand government says it has full confidence Samoa’s new government and its judiciary will continue to act with integrity.

This comes after former prime minister, Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, claimed that the recent actions of the judiciary had “shattered” the constitution and the law of the jungle now applied.

Tuila’epa claimed the rulings by the Court of Appeal, which last month confirmed FAST as the legitimately elected government, had destabilised the country.

• READ MORE: Other Samoan democracy articles

He castigated New Zealand and Australia for not speaking out in support of his position.

But, in a statement, the Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta reiterated New Zealand’s backing for the new government of Fiame Naomi Mata’afa as the legitimate government of Samoa.

She said New Zealand’s recognition of the FAST government was swift and unequivocal, and that New Zealand had faith in the judicial and law enforcement systems to act appropriately, as they have done since the election on April 9.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Veteran Samoan parliamentarian and chairman of the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) has criticised what he characterises as the “extreme” and “defamatory” behaviour of the former Prime Minister of Samoa since losing government.

Speaking during his programme Ia Ao Samoa yesterday, La’auli Leuatea Schmidt said he was “appalled” by the actions of Tuila’epa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi and his party, especially their “unfounded accusations” towards Samoa’s Chief Justice.

Tuila’epa and the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) have so far staged two separate “peaceful protests” to protest what they claim to be the “disintegration” of the Constitution.

• READ MORE: Other articles about Samoa’s democracy

Hundreds of people were seen marching in unison, singing together with posters held up in the air.

Some messages were directed explicitly at Satiu Simativa Perese, asking him to step down from the role of Chief Justice.

The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries believes that Tuila’epa and his party have “gone too far” with their actions.

‘Whole new level’
“I have seen that the level of criticism from them (HRPP) has been upgraded. It has gone up to a whole new level and it’s disappointing [to see],” said La’auli.

“They used to sit here while we were on the other side.

“[And] back then they have been accusing us of so many things, yet we have never gone up to this level.

“This is extreme…what we are seeing right now, their actions and the things they have said is extreme.”

In saying that, La’auli said they are well-aware of all the accusations made by Tuila’epa and his party so far.

However, he flatly denied the claims from the Opposition Leader.

“The comments and remarks they have made are not only impolite, rude, unfounded but also have gone without barriers,” he said.

“I mean, we (FAST) have got used to the way he communicates and the blaming game from him [Tuilaepa].

‘Brainwashed our people’
“But what is sad to see is that they have manipulated and brainwashed our people and exploited our people to achieve their agenda. It’s disappointing to see.”

La’auli believes that the actions from the opposition side of government are causing “unnecessary hatred” among Samoans.

“The level of defamatory remarks has gone above and beyond, without barriers. They’ve made accusations so many times before to ruin the name of our leader, our party, and myself,” he said.

“But now, they are targeting the judiciary.

“I’m appalled at the things they have come up, with especially what they have said.

“It’s sad to see it coming from people who used to lead the country and from someone who was the Prime Minister.

“But I guess they don’t care anymore and have gone as far as trying to destroy the constitution and the judiciary. They have cursed our judiciary and have come up with all those baseless accusations towards the one pillar we are relying on to keep the peace within the country

‘Extraordinary defamation’
“The level of defamation is extraordinary.

“But the question is, who are they to question the work done by the panel of judges in Samoa?

“Were they appointed under the Constitution to question the work of our judges? Are they liable under the constitution to question the roles of judges? Is that their job? I don’t think so.

“Samoa’s highest courts have delivered their decision, so I do not understand why they are still questioning that.

“It seems like they are trying to imply that they are superior and that they are smarter than our judges.”

La’auli said the opposition side has been doing nothing but “wrong moves” since they stepped down.

Moreover, La’auli said, he had already tasked an “investigative team” to look into all the accusations made by the opposition leader and members towards the Chief Justice, judiciary and the FAST government.

‘Criticism has skyrocketed’
“Because the level of criticism has skyrocketed, we need to do something. Therefore, I had already called on our investigation team and asked them to go out and gather all the claims and accusations made by them and bring them all in.

“We will deal with all the unfounded accusations later on.

“At the moment we need to bring and gather them all in, and while we don’t want to waste our time to go and face them (HRPP) there will come a time where we will take all of them to court, that’s the best way to deal with this.

“We will leave it in the good hands of our police and judiciary.

“If they (HRPP) have the guts to break the law then they should also be bold and ready to stand before the court.

“They (HRPP) have exploited our people to achieve their goals.”

‘Tarnishing Samoa’s Constitution’
La’auli accused Tuila’epa of “tarnishing Samoa’s Constitution”.

“How can he accuse other people of destroying the Constitution when it has been greatly damaged under his leadership.,” he asked.

“You only need to look at all the amendments he made over the years, only to destroy and amend them again if it doesn’t work the way he expects it to work.

“So to say that we and the Chief Justice have destroyed our Constitutions is ironic. Because that’s exactly what he has been doing.

“The amendments made under his leadership and under his orders have not only tarnished our Constitution, but also the good work and sacrifice of our forefathers.”

Sialai Sarafina Sanerivi is a Samoa Observer journalist. Republished with permission.

Heavy rain early today failed to deter more than 1000 Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) supporters who gathered in front of the Government building in Apia — some travelling hours to get there — to protest against what they claim to be the “disintegration” of Samoa’s constitution.

Despite the sporadic heavy showers, people marched in unison singing traditional songs to rally against the judiciary’s ruling to install the new Fiame Naomi Mata’afa government.

People held up posters with messages proclaiming “Uphold the Constitution” and “Constitutional Government not Judicial Government” as they waved Samoan flags.

• READ MORE: Other articles about the Samoan elections

The Former Minister of Health, Faimalo Kika Stowers, led the march with other HRPP figures and former MPs mixed among the crowd.

While announcements said the march would start at 10 am, the movement of more than 200 people left the Fiame Mata’afa Faumuina Mulinuu II (FMFMII) Building before that time.

Many of the attendees told the Samoa Observer that they were marching in support of former prime minister Tuila’epa Dr Sailele Malielegaoi’s government.

“HRPP have done amazing things for Samoa and we will continue to stand for [it],” an elderly man in his 80s from Moataa said.

Buses full of civilians
Buses full of civilians of all ages, from as far as Samatau, offloaded in front of the Government building from 8 am.

Meanwhile, at the Malae o Tiafau, large tents and hundreds of chairs had been set up to shelter the demonstrators.

The Samoa Observer understands that the Supreme Court had cancelled all matters initally scheduled for Monday as a safety precaution for judges.

A heavy police presence was seen at the ground floor of the building.

The Samoa Observer understands this was to ensure that no disturbances took place for the new government that is now housed in the FMFMII building.

Today’s rally comes after the party’s supporters participated on Friday in a vehicle convoy protest against the judiciary.

Soli Wilson is a writer for the Samoa Observer. This article is republished with permission.

After previous calls for the Samoan Parliament to convene so a national budget can be passed, the ruling FAST Party now says there is no real need to rush to convene Parliament.

Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa said last Saturday that Parliament would meet “in the first opportunity” this week to pass a budget.

The Samoa Observer reports Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa as saying cabinet needs more time to screen and review the financial arrangements used by the former government of Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and his Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP).

• READ MORE: Other Samoan democracy reports

The Ministry of Finance was instructed to prepare a budget using an article that allows 25 percent of the previous budget to operate until a full budget is prepared for Parliament to pass.

The Tuilaepa government had been using this provision since the 2020/2021 budget ended on 30 June which amounts to about 220 million tālā.

According to Fiame, wiith 25 percent, there is a figure, but there is a lack of supporting details even though the processes seemed to be followed for payments under the Emergency Budget.

She explained that the Ministry of Finance wanted cabinet to use the budget they have prepared and announced by the caretaker prime minister last month.

“We still want our own Budget to deliver what the FAST Party has in place in its manifesto,” said Fiamē.

Fiame said Parliament would likely meet in September.

Meanwhile, a FAST spokesperson says the legitimacy of the HRPP candidates who were not sworn-in within the required 45 days is still being determined as it has never happened before.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Samoa’s new FAST Party government has got down to work this morning, meeting with the heads of government departments, more than 100 days after it had won the election.

FAST MPs were forced to swear themselves in because the Head of State had barred them from entering Parliament.

The court ruled that the swearing in complied with the Constitution and so it was legitimate.

• READ MORE: Samoa’s highest court declares FAST government legal – impasse ends

The judges wrote “that the swearing in, is in and of itself Constitutional and lawful, and there is no need to consider the doctrine of necessity.”

They also said the Head of State, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, had shown a lack of understanding of his constitutional role and an equally basic lack of understanding of the role of the Supreme Court.

The judges said the Supreme Court is “the guardian of the Constitution and it will continue to protect and maintain the rule of law and democracy under the Supreme law.”

While the FAST cabinet has been at work, the HRPP party, which has been reduced to 17 seats to FAST’s 26 through the electoral petition process, is continuing to grumble about the decision.

Local media have reported caretaker prime minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi is refusing to concede.

One of the first to congratulate the Prime Minister-elect, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, on her victory, was New Zealand’s leader, Jacinda Ardern.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Samoa’s Court of Appeal ruled today that the Faatuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party was the country’s new government bringing three months of political stalemate to a close.

The court, the highest in the country, found that a swearing-in ceremony conducted by the party on the lawns of Parliament on May 24 was in fact legally binding, immediately installing FAST as the nation’s new government and declaring it had been so for nearly two months.

The decision apparently brings to an end the 22-year reign of Tuila’epa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi as the nation’s Prime Minister.

• READ MORE: Other Samoan election reports

Under the court order he will be succeeded by Samoa’s first female Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa.

In their conclusion, the Court of Appeal said to avoid doubt Samoa has had a lawful government since May 24, namely that led by the FAST party.

The decision also ends nearly four decades of uninterrupted political dominance by the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which first won government in 1982.

Fiame is a former member of Tuila’epa’s government and Deputy Prime Minister who quit the ruling party last September over what she said were plans to dismantle the rule of law in the form of three bills that were passed into law in December.

Widespread criticism
The bills drew widespread criticism for their effect on the independence of the courts from legal experts and the nation’s judges.

Fiame led the newly created FAST party to a slender one-seat victory 26-25 following the holding of April 9 national elections.

The impromptu swearing-in was held on May 24 — the last day on which Parliament was obliged to meet after a national election according to a stipulation in the nation’s constitution.

That ceremony, which was boycotted by HRPP members and the Head of State, was conducted before a majority of FAST Members of Parliament and followed a Supreme Court order the day prior ruling that must Parliament convene.

But the ceremony was held outside the Legislative Assembly building after the former Speaker of the Parliament, Leaupepe Toleafoa Faafis, ordered that it be locked down.

While the swearing-in was previously struck down by the Supreme Court, the FAST party argued that it needed to be held out of the “principle of necessity”, namely to stop the breach of that constitutional requirement.

The Chief Justice, Satiu Simativa Perese, alongside Justice Niava Mata Tuatagaloa and Justice Tafaoimalo Leilani Tuala-Warren delivered the decision at 4.30 pm this afternoon.

Legal challenges
Since then the swearing-in HRPP’s numbers on the floor of of Parliament has fallen by seven to reach 18 following successful seat-by-seat post-election legal challenges to its election victories that will result in fresh byelection contests.

The HRPP and the Head of State have ignored decisions instructing them to convene Parliament that they could not do so until all Members of Parliament were represented in the Legislative Assembly, particularly women MPs who are required to make up 10 percent of all legislators under a constitutional mandate.

The panel of justices said it did not recognise the caretaker government being legitimate and said it was unlawfully occupying office.

The court also ruled that the role of the Head of State in swearing-in the Speaker and members of the FAST are ceremonial roles to administer the swearing-in where the oath is to the Almighty God.

The appeal from the Attorney-General’s Office was dismissed and the cross appeal from the FAST party upheld.

The question of whether the courts have the legal right to force Parliament to sit in cases where the constitution had been violated, or whether that power was exclusively vested in the Head of State, lay at the heart of the case, which was held last week.

In that hearing, arguing on behalf of the Samoa Law Society, New Zealand QC Robert Lithgow said something had stood in the way of the Legislative Assembly convening despite the court’s clear power to force Parliament to sit within a day.

Constitution’s ‘higher purpose’
He said the constitution, as the supreme law of the land, could not be “bolted” down by interested parties but it had a broader, higher purpose: protecting the central interests of the Samoan people as expressed by them in their recent election.

Friday’s decision came as a surprise to parties involved in the case, who had previously been under the impression that a decision would not be handed down until Monday next week.

A notification that a decision on the matter had been reached was only sent to involved parties at about five minutes past 4 pm this afternoon with the decision handed down shortly after at about 4.30 pm.

The HRPP was added as a party to the Supreme Court case but no comment has yet been made by Tuila’epa or any of its other representatives.

In late May, Tuila’epa promised to abide by any ruling by Samoa’s highest court on the issue of the validity of the swearing-in.

Lanuola Tusani Tupufia-Ah Tong is a Samoa Observer journalist. Republished with permission.

When Australia’s second-longest ever serving Prime Minister faced a complete wipeout at the national elections after 10 years in power — even being voted out of his own seat — he realised that he had lost but only as part of a process much bigger than he was.

It was not the sheer scale of his loss that was extraordinary.

All political careers end in tragedy, as the saying goes. But it was the belief he displayed in ideals more important than his own self-interest.

• READ MORE: Samoa’s HRPP loses another seat in court action

“This is a wonderful exercise in democracy,” John Howard said at a small ceremony at a local primary school held to acknowledge that he had been voted out by the constituents whom he had represented for more than three decades.

“You can count on the fingers of one hand the countries which have remained democracies for over 100 years.

“It is a privilege to be part of that process.”

Howard’s end, and the steely manner in which he went out to meet it, is a lesson in principled graciousness and other attributes Samoa’s Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) has failed to display since losing the election.

Most noticeably lacking is a sense of pride in democracy being part of our nation’s character and respect for its rules being a form of patriotism.

Instead, we have seen in Samoa a caretaker Prime Minister, Tuila’epa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi who lost the election, and continues to lose seats by the day, refuse to even contemplate defeat.

He has openly defied (it comes right after “decline” in the dictionary, Tuila’epa, should you need help to check the grammatical correctness) the voters, the judiciary and now ultimately the nation because he is unwilling to look past beyond his own seat in power and towards the better interests and future of this nation.

In doing so he has actively contrived to plunge this nation into a constitutional crisis and disparaged all the democratic institutions which our country must respect for it to function.

Remarkably, he has shown very little care for being seen plainly and for what he is in this whole national crisis: a stubborn and self-regarding roadblock to process.

In the past three months a stream of excuses have emanated from the caretaker Prime Minister’s mouth about who is to blame for our current constitutional predicament.

On Tuesday he was attempting to blame the courts for the nation’s prolonged political uncertainty; a favourite target of his; and another critical democratic institution.

“This whole process has been prolonged because they [Supreme Court] had added back ends to the decisions they have delivered after the elections,” he said.

“For instance, the decision they delivered on the ten per cent for women representation in Parliament.”

Well, that is simply not the case. The Prime Minister has tried to hide behind the claim that only until the question of female representation in the Parliament has been settled can it convene.

The courts have ruled twice now that there is no grounding in fact whatsoever for his statements.

But as his pronouncements have become increasingly divorced from reality and even ridiculous he has shown next to care.

All the while as his numbers on the floor of Parliament are dwindling. He is perhaps hoping that most voters don’t pay attention or care enough about politics to let him get away with this political double-dealing.

Ultimately Tuila’epa has shown that he does not conceive of Samoa as a democracy; he sees it as an island on which he and the HRPP are meant to rule.

That explains the extreme casualness with which he walked into his election defeat at the hands of the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party – and his seeming inability to face up to the truth after.

But as a story on Tuesday’s front page made clear, the ability to accept defeat was a precondition of any functioning democracy (Samoa risks decline into dictatorship: Harvard professor).

This is certainly a serious democratic crisis, and the behavior of both the Prime Minister and the Head of State can certainly be deemed anti-democratic,” said Dr Steven Levitsky.

“It is essential in a democracy that losers accept defeat and not seek to remain in power via other means. What the HRPP has done is similar to Donald Trump’s reaction to defeat in the US, which has weakened US democracy.”

Luckily for America its democratic institutions were strong enough to withstand a coordinated attack on accepting its election, as the institutions and gatekeepers of that republic proved they could not be corrupted by political rants from a man who had just lost an election and, like that, had his power next to nearly instantly evaporate.

“Any time the incumbent party loses and refuses to accept defeat and seeks to remain in power by other means, democracy is in crisis,” the professor continued.

“That is Samoa today.”

But as he makes clear, Samoa is on the downward slide toward — but has not yet reached — the depths of political dictatorship.

“It may be too soon to call the PM a dictator and the regime a dictatorship. Samoa is still mid-crisis,” Dr Levitsky said.

“But if the PM and Head of State persist and are successful in thwarting this election, democracy will have been (at least temporarily) derailed.”

“It would be at that moment that Samoa will have slid into dictatorship, he said: “If the PM remains in power indefinitely despite losing an election, then I think you can say Samoa has slid into dictatorship.”

Indeed. The worrying thing for Samoa is that neither Tuilaepa, nor the various officials he has used as shields in his ongoing battle to frustrate court rulings, have shown the slightest inclination to avoid such a slide.

These are indeed dark days for Samoa. At nearly 60 years of age, we stand on the precipice of backsliding from our extraordinary achievement to have thrown off colonial shackles and become a successful democracy.

All that stands on the edge of being destroyed if the caretaker Prime Minister continues to act as if he cannot hear court rulings. Or if, as seems like an increasingly course of action, the Head of State convenes Parliament on August 2 and despite a FAST majority, rules that no government can be formed before sending the nation back to the polls.

That too, though it will involve a fresh election, will be a killer blow to our reputation as one of the world’s democracies: finding ways to throw out the people’s verdicts and starting again fresh with the hope of securing another is utterly undemocratic.

And voters could never trust that those in charge of the country will honour their wishes again.

The caretaker Prime Minister, a man fond of bombastic rhetoric, has shown little evidence that he has contemplated the shattering fact that the people of Samoa have voted and decided that no longer want him to run the country.

Until he comes to peace with that fact and realises that by acting as he has he imperils the future of this nation — not only for now but for generations — but also shows contempt for its history.

This Samoa Observer editorial, 14 July 2021, is republished with permission.

Samoa’s HRPP party — the country’s caretaker government — has now lost six seats since the April 9 general election, with eight byelections to come.

The incoming FAST Party government holds 26 seats to the HRPP’s 19.

FAST, which won the election but has been stymied in its efforts to assume power by the HRPP, continues to hold a majority of the 51 seats in the Parliament.

• READ MORE: Other articles on the Samoan political impasse

The caretaker government has lost six seats during the electoral petitions while a further two are to be contested again at the agreement of candidates.

Today, as the electoral petitions continue to come before the court, three HRPP candidates who had won their seats, agreed to resign, ahead of facing the judge, and so force byelections.

The HRPP’s Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi has been pushing for a new general election to solve the political impasse since he first prompted the crisis by refusing to step down.

Meanwhile, a Supreme Court hearing set to determine if Tuila’epa will face criminal contempt proceedings has been delayed.

Tuilaepa, the attorney-general, Parliament’s former speaker and its clerk were to appear for preventing Parliament from convening on May 24 as the court ordered.

The court is to probe the roles played by the four in defying the May 23 order that the 17th Parliament convene the next day and members be sworn in.

The contempt citation was brought by FAST, but its lawyers today sought a delay in proceedings.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The FAST Party in Samoa has filed an application with the Supreme Court to have it recognise an impromptu swearing-in ceremony of elected members of the new political party.

At the beginning of last week the court ruled the ceremony illegal as the Head of State was not present.

But it said Parliament must sit by this Monday or it could reconsider the previous swearing conducted in a tent in the parliament grounds after newly elected members were locked out of Parliament.

• READ MORE: Other articles about the Samoa elections crisis

At the time the Fast Party leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa described the open air ceremony on May 24 as a legal option, applying the principle of necessity, because all other avenues were blocked.

On Sunday night the Head of State went on television to defy the court ruling and push the convening of Parliament out by another month.

On Monday, the rival Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) wrote to police to lay a complaint over the impromptu swearing in, saying they wanted it investigated as a potentially criminal event.

The police commander, Fuiavailili Egon Keil, has set up an investigating committee.

Chief Justice branded ‘incompetent’
The HRPP has labelled Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese as incompetent in an official complaint.

The complaint allegedly follows recent decisions by the Supreme Court where some acts of gift giving have been allowed as being culturally accepted.

The Samoa Observer reports the complaint was made in a letter from HRPP secretary Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi to the Judicial Services Commission.

It said the Chief Justice appears to be incompetent in the handling of HRPP cases since the beginning of electoral petitions.

The letter added that his rulings did not appear to be in accordance with the law, basic legal principles and well established precedent.

It said Satiu was unlikely to be familiar with the express exclusion of fa’asamoa and giving money during the elections to voters.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

How quickly things change.

If, as the old cliche goes, a week is a long time in politics then a month is an eternity.

As a story on the front page of the Weekend Observer revealed, the caretaker government is once again seeking to shape the outcome of judicial decision-making.

• READ MORE: Head of State defies court order, defers Parliament to August
• Samoa head of state’s power to convene parliament questionable – Academic

Caretaker Prime Minister Tuila’epa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi and the Attorney-General, Savalenoa Mareva Betham-Savalenoa, have presented the Supreme Court with a motion requesting that certain judges not preside over a contempt of court motion filed against them.

The justices the pair are seeking to have removed via a recusal motion are the Chief Justice, Satiu Simativa Perese, Justice Vui Clarence Nelson and Justice Tafaoimalo Leilani Tuala-Warren (“Tuilaepa wants judges off contempt case”).

Saturday’s revelation is the latest in a long and complex string of attempts by the caretaker Prime Minister to influence the judicial branch of government in his favour. But is also reflective of a curious trend: that Tuila’epa’s hand-picked jurist has fallen out of the caretaker Prime Minister’s favour.

Efforts to influence and bombard the court have recently reached their peak as the nation undergoes a constitutional crisis over Parliament’s failure to convene after April’s national election.

But these attempts to make the court empathetic to the caretaker Prime Minister were in fact underway long ago. They date back to when Tuila’epa was searching for a Chief Justice to replace Patu Tiava’asu’e Falefatu Sapolu who resigned in April 2019.

That time feels like a different era: before the measles epidemic, the global covid-19 pandemic and our current constitutional crisis.

Tuila’epa took an unhurried approach to choosing a permanent replacement for Patu, the longest-serving Chief Justice in Samoan history, with nearly 27 years of judicial experience under his belt.

In fact, Tuilaepa openly admitted that he was taking a passive approach to selecting the appropriate candidate and waiting for divine inspiration to guide him to select the best candidate.

“I am still praying and once I acquire the whispers from God, then a decision will be made,” Tuilaepa said at the time.

“If it takes up to six months, that’s not a bad thing at all,”

In fact, it took much longer than that. Samoa was without a permanent Chief Justice for more than a year while the Prime Minister waited for that divine whisper.

He eventually settled on Justice Satiu who was sworn-in in June last year.

The Prime Minister did not disclose the contents of any whispers he may have received from on high to guide his choice.

But at his swearing-in ceremony, Tuila’epa defended the amount of time he took in selecting a replacement, again maintaining that Justice Satiu’s installment was guided from above.

“It takes time to seek God’s face and turn to the Bible for guidance. And these things take time and the whispers [from the Holy Spirit],” he said.

As it happens, Justice Satiu has been resolute in changing the direction of the court.

But it has not been in the way that the caretaker Prime Minister perhaps envisioned; he has proven to be more of a thorn in Tuila’epa’s side than a blessing.

Justice Satiu, born in Magiagi, is deeply rooted in Samoan tradition, but he has also been influenced by the principles of judicial independence taught at the universities he attended in New Zealand and America. This commitment has been shown in his rulings on a flurry of post-election legal petitions.

His Honour, has time and time again, shown his loyalty to the principle of judicial independence during a time of intense legal wrangling.

But in doing so, the Chief Justice has countered widely held expectations about how he would rule from the bench.

In an April statement, issued shortly after national elections which are the root cause of our current power crisis he issued a short statement outlining his simple judicial philosophy.

“We are in a state of uncertainty after the General Election, but I wish to reassure ourselves as a community, that the role of the Judiciary as the Independent Branch of Government is to do right by all manner of people, without fear or favour affection or ill will,” he said.

“As sworn members of the Judiciary, we uphold that Oath to the best of our abilities so to adhere to the Rule of Law.”

All jurists know to affirm their commitment to judicial independence; sticking to them in practice is a different question altogether.

It was widely assumed that because such a long time was taken to approve his selection, Justice Satiu would lean towards the constitutional interpretations of Tuila’epa and that of his Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP).

But much to the caretaker Prime Minister’s frustration, Justice Satiu has upset all expectations by remaining cool and composed throughout the current legal onslaught and applied the law completely straight.

Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, the leader of the Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party condemned his early release from quarantine in May as a political manoeuvre “so that he [could] sit in on the electoral petitions.”

That led to Tuila’epa to leap to his defence as a principled jurist, while he was attacking unnamed members in Samoa’s judiciary of being biased against him:

“It’s apparent from the criticism that the Chief Justice is an honest person,” he said on his programme on state-owned radio 2AP.

“[Fiame’s…] criticism is due to the fact [the Chief Justice] is independent.”

But now Tuila’epa is seeking to avoid having him preside over a trial in which he is involved. How quickly perceptions change.

Before the month of May was out and the FAST party held its own swearing-in ceremony on the lawns of a locked down Parliamentary precinct, the appraisal of the Chief Justice’s integrity has changed considerably.

The office of the government’s lawyer, the Attorney-General, maligned his integrity in a later retracted media statement claiming he had too often ruled in FAST’s favour and was even a “close relative” of Fiame’s.

He also drew criticism for walking to Parliament to try and open its doors on May 24 after being on a panel that determined Parliament had to sit on that day. (The doors had been locked on orders of the former Speaker Leaupepe Toleafoa Faafisi, who is himself facing a motion of contempt).

“The actions of the Chief Justice indicate that he may be in contempt of Parliament,” a statement from the Attorney-General’s office said.

But throughout this personal disparagement during our current constitutional crisis, Justice Satiu has maintained cool and composed and methodically applied the law and stayed true to his oath to protect and uphold Samoa’s constitution.

Perhaps His Honour Satiu Simativa Perese was indeed a gift from God — just not the kind that the caretaker Prime Minister was hoping to receive.

The Appellate Court on Friday declared that the issue of a contentious sixth women’s electoral seat could not prevent the convening of Parliament.

The decision refutes the caretaker HRPP government’s claim that the extra seat must be appointed before Parliament could sit.

Fiame has written to the Head of State requesting the house sit on Tuesday.

#BREAKING: The Supreme Court has declared the swearing in of the Faatuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi party outside parliament unconstitutional but has also ordered parliament to convene within seven days. https://t.co/aDhJ9dqYLb

— Samoa Observer (@samoaobserver) June 28, 2021

Clear majority
The FAST Party now has a 26-24 seat majority following the HRPP loss of Sagaga No.2 this month in an electoral petition.

Both candidates have been voided for corruption and a byelection is pending.

The Samoa Observer reports that the caretaker prime minister – and leader of HRPP – Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi – has scoffed at FAST’s call to convene Parliament following the Appellate Court decision.

Tuilaepa said at least FAST have had the Appeal Court’s decision explained to them and they now understand what it means.

At an evening of singing at HRPP headquarters on Saturday, Tuilaepa said the court had clarified what the decision meant.

“And now they’re claiming they won and want Parliament to convene. There’s no decision like that,” the Observer quotes him as saying.

Tuilaepa maintains that Parliament cannot convene until all legal challenges are dealt with and until a sixth woman member has been chosen as per Section 44 of the Constitution.

Doubts over HRPP members
Meanwhile, the prime minister-elect is questioning the legitimacy of the HRPP MPs who were not sworn in by deadline.

The constitution requires Parliament to convene and members to be sworn in by the 45th day following an election.

None of the HRPP’s 24-member caucus have taken the oath for this term.

FAST says the lockout at Parliament was in defiance of a Supreme Court ruling that Parliament should convene.

In Australia, the Morrison government has called on Samoa’s two political parties to cooperate and convene Parliament, while the Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna has told media he has been assured by leaders of both parties that they will respect the court’s decisions.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The Court of Appeal in Samoa says its ruling from June 2 on the sixth women’s seat cannot be used to delay the convening of Parliament.

The court had said a sixth woman is required to satisfy the constitutional requirements but that any decision on this be delayed until after the electoral petition process is complete.

The caretaker Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which lost the election on April 9 to the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) Party by one seat, had used this decision to justify delaying a parliamentary sitting.

• READ MORE: Other articles on the Samoan elections

FAST this week sought a clarification from the Court of Appeal and its decision has now been made public.

The court said the convening of Parliament is mandatory under Article 52 of the constitution, and that it did not declare that this was dependent on the activation of Article 44(1)(A), which determines the number of women’s seats.

It said there was insufficient evidence before the court to determine whether any of the persons who have provided interpretations contrary to this were made maliciously, carelessly or otherwise.

Electoral petitions
Meanwhile, two electoral petitions backfired yesterday with both plaintiffs losing their cases and in turn being found guilty of corrupt practices.

Samoa’s Supreme Court found in favour of the incoming FAST party candidates for the Salega No.1 and A’ana Alofi No.3 seats.

Salega No.1’s Fepulea’i Fa’asavalu Faimata Su’a and A’ana Alofi No.3’s Agaseata Valelio Tanuvasa Peto were accused of using corrupt and illegal practices to influence their electoral wins.

But the court dismissed the petitions for lack of proof.

Instead it agreed with counter-petitions and found the Tautua Party leader Afualo Wood Salele guilty of corruption in Salega No.1 and the A’ana Alofi No.3 independent candidate, Ili Setefano Tafili, guilty of two counts of bribery.

Both candidates are now ineligible to run for parliament for two electoral terms, or ten years.

A previous electoral petition has left Sagaga No.2 awaiting a by-election after both petitioners were found guilty.

The newcomer FAST party remains in top position with 26 seats while the caretaker HRPP, which lost Sagaga No.2, is at 24.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

A Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) associate minister has had his  seat of Sagaga 2 in the Samoa general election declared void by the Supreme Court following a legal challenge, triggering a byelection.

This means previously elected Member of Parliament Seiuli Ueligitone Seiuli, a member of the HRPP has been removed from his seat after being found guilty of bribery and treating charges.

The petitioner, Maualaivao Patelesio Ah Him, who ran as an independent candidate, was also found guilty of treating and bribery charges filed in a counter petition.

• READ MORE: Other reports about the Samoan political crisis

The ruling was handed down by Justice Fepuleai Ameperosa Roma and Justice Vui Clarence Nelson.

A byelection for the seat will be triggered, the outcome of which will influence the wider Parliament’s balance of power.

It is not known when the byelection will be held. But neither man will be able to stand in the contest, nor will they be able to stand for elected office for 15 years.

In the near-term it increases the majority of the Faatuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party, which will now have a total of 26 confirmed elected members to the HRPP’s 24.

Challenged in court
Maualaivao challenged Seiuli in court, alleging bribery, treating and providing transportation for voters in a bid to influence their votes.

Maualaivao was found guilty of bribery charges laid against him supported by evidence presented by witnesses who claimed to have received amounts of up to $100 when visiting his office at the Nia Mall Building in Fugalei ahead of the April election.

Meanwhile, Seiuli was found guilty of transporting voters to polling booths on election day. He was also found guilty of bribery and treating through the provision of $10,000 in breakfast cash money (suā ti) presented during a village meeting in 2020.

Maualaivao was not present at the court when the decision was delivered. The Supreme Court also raised issues that arose from the case for the Speaker of the House to review.

Both men are former senior Members of Parliament and from the village of Malie.

Seiuli was the former Associate Minister of the Ministry of Works Transport and Infrastructure in the most recent Parliament.

Maualaivao had been a Member of Parliament during the 15th Parliament (2011-2016) for the now-defunct Individual Voters seat, under the HRPP banner.

Ran as an Independent
The 71-year-old businessman failed to return for the 16th Parliament (2016-2021), losing his seat to Faumuina Wayne Fong who won the (rebranded) Urban West seat they were contesting.

For the 2021 general election, he decided to run as an Independent, contesting for the Sagaga No 2 seat.

On the April 9 election Seiuli secured 699 votes to Maualaivao’s 547, the Electoral Commission’s final count showed.

Magele Leone Sua-Mailo represented Maualaivao while Tuatagaloa Shane Wulf represented Seiuli.

Soli Wilson writes for the Samoa Observer. This article is republished with permission.

In the latest twist in Samoa’s political rollercoaster, the FAST party has accused the rival HRPP leader of contempt of court, reports Pacific Media Network News.

Tuila’epa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi has been accused of ignoring a Supreme Court ruling to convene Parliament, when FAST should have been sworn in as government.

Also accused alongside Tuila’epa is the Speaker of Parliament, the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and the Attorney-General.

• READ MORE: Samoa’s Tuila’epa sued for contempt – RNZ Pacific

The motion was filed by Prime Minister-elect Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, leader of the FAST party, who has also accused Tuila’epa of undermining the judiciary through disparaging comments.

Fiame Naomi Mata’afa speaking on 531pi’s Pacific Days. Video: PMN News

Speaking on 531pi’s Pacific Days, Fiame claimed her opposite number was still refusing to accept his defeat in the April 9 general election.

Negotiations between Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi broke down earlier this week after they disagreed on a transition to a new government

Fiame claims there was nothing out of the ordinary regarding her request.

Transition to new government
“We were looking for a discussion to transition to a new government and then moving out.

“It’s not as though he [Tuila’epa] should be surprised. I think the man is in serious denial, as though it’s very unusual for a party that has won the election to say, ‘Listen mate, these are the results and you should be moving out and let’s have a discussion about that’.”

Fiame doubts there will be further negotiations given the stance taken by herself and her opposite, Tuila’epa.

“Well, you never say no to a negotiation if there’s some rational outcome to be gained from it, but from the positions that we’ve taken and especially the interpretations of the appeal court’s decision, I don’t see it.”

Fiame told Pacific Days that she found it an irony about what was being discussed between the two political party leaders.

“This whole impasse is centered around representation for women, so as a woman, I’m quite fascinated,” she said.

“I’m always pleased if there’s an increase of women in Parliament, but people need to understand that this is a particular provision within the law and there are issues around it.”

Prepared for court rulings
The FAST party leader said she was prepared to go through the formal process of the court ruling on election petitions in order to come to a resolution.

“He’s [Tuila’epa] wanting to delay the process of government, of Parliament meeting and for us to move in and he was saying to us, it was in our interest to cut short this process and do what he was offering of 26 members each going into the House,” Fiame says.

“So I said to him, ‘Listen, however long it takes, you can be sure that we will be pursuing that and through the law’.”

When asked whether the FAST party would be willing to go through a second election, Fiame replied: “Why would we? We won the election. We’re not silly.”

Samoa’s Prime Minister-elect, FAST party leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, says negotiations remain at an impasse between her party and the rival Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP).

The parties met yesterday in Apia to try and resolve the stalemate resulting from the April 9 election.

In a statement last night, Fiame maintained that FAST held the majority of 26 seats to the HRPP’s 25.

• READ MORE: Other reports on the Samoan post-elections crisis

She said these FAST members had been sworn in, with a cabinet appointed and speaker and deputy chosen.

The HRPP leader, caretaker Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi continued to claim the result was not clear because 10 percent of 51 members or six women representatives in the House had not been achieved.

But Fiame said last week’s Court of Appeal decision was not retrospective and could only apply to future elections as the writ of appointment of the elected members was given by the Head of State on 16 April 2021.

Fiame said she was also seeking the continuing support and prayers of the churches and the nation as the political leaders look to amicably resolve the current impasse.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

International reporting has hardly been a strong feature of New Zealand journalism. No New Zealand print news organisation has serious international news departments or foreign correspondents with the calibre of such overseas media as The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

It has traditionally been that way for decades. And it became much worse after the demise in 2011 of the New Zealand Press Association news agency, which helped shape the identity of the country for 132 years and at least provided news media with foreign reporting with an Aotearoa perspective fig leaf.

It is not even much of an aspirational objective with none of the 66 Voyager Media Awards categories recognising international reportage, unlike the Walkley Awards in Australia that have just 34 categories but with a strong recognition of global stories (last year’s Gold Walkley winner Mark Willacy of ABC Four Corners reported “Killing Field” about Australian war crimes in Afghanistan).

• READ MORE: Papuan resistance slams Indonesian internet gag amid leader crackdown
• Papuan armed resistance insists talks with Jakarta must be mediated by UN
• Other West Papua reports
• Reinstate victimised Palestinian journalists’ union leader, says IFJ

Aspiring New Zealand international reporters head off abroad and gain postings with news agencies and broadcasters or work with media with a global mission such as Al Jazeera.

Consequently our lack of tradition for international news coverage means that New Zealand media tend to have many media blind spots on critical issues, or misjudge the importance of some topics. Examples include the Samoan elections in April when the result was the most momentous game changer in more than four decades with the de facto election of the country’s first woman prime minister, unseating the incumbent who had been in power for 23 years.

The recent Israel-Palestine conflict in May was another case of where reporting was very unbalanced in favour of the oppressor for 73 years, Israel. Indonesian’s five decades of repression in the Melanesian provinces of West Papua is also virtually ignored by the mainstream media apart from the diligent, persistent and laudable coverage by RNZ Pacific.

There is a deafening silence about the current brutal and draconian attack on West Papuan pro-independence resistance fighters and leaders in remote areas with the internet unplugged apart from insightful journalists such as Johnny Blades.

No threat to status quo
As national award-winning cartoonist Malcom Evans wrote in a Daily Blog column on the eve of last week’s Voyager Media Awards that whoever won prizes, “it’s a sure bet that, he or she, won’t be someone whose work threatens the machinery that manufactures our consent to a perpetuation of the status quo”.

He continued:

“There will be no awards for anyone like Julian Assange or Edward Snowden, but none either for our own Nicky Hager or Jon Stephenson, who exposed war crimes committed in Afghanistan by New Zealanders, and none for Chris Trotter, Bryan Bruce or Susan St John whose writings have consistently exposed the criminal outcomes wrought on New Zealanders by neo-liberalism.”

Evans also cited “Indonesia’s rape of West Papua and East Timor” and the “damning Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians” as examples of lack of media exposure of “New Zealand duplicity and connivance”.

Hanan Ashrawi, the first woman member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), told Middle East Eye in the wake of the conflict that left 256 Palestinians — including 66 children — and 13 Israelis dead that it was illogical to expect Israel to be both the “gatekeeper and to have the veto”.

“Israel has never implemented a single UN resolution at all, since its creation [in 1948]. And Israel has always existed outside the law. So why do you expect Israel suddenly to become a state that will respect others, human rights, international law and the multilateral system.

“Israel is the country, the only country that legislated a basic law that says only Jews have the right to self-determination in this land which is all of historical Palestine.

“Israel has destroyed the two-state solution.

When Israel opens up …
“Only when Israel opens up, when this system of discrimination, repression, apartheid is dismantled, only then will you begin to see that there are opportunities of equalities and so on.”

However, Ashrawi was complimentary about the new wave of youth leadership and support for the Palestinian cause sweeping across the globe. She was optimistic that a new political language, new initiatives for a solution would emerge.

New Zealand media did little to reflect this shifting global mood of support for Palestine – apart from Stuff and its publication of Jewish dissident Marilyn Garson’s articles from Sh’ma Kolienu – and it ignored the massive second week of protests for a lasting peace.

RNZ Mediawatch’s Hayden Donnell was highly critical over the lack of news coverage of the “newsworthy and historic” Samoan elections on April 9, commenting: “For nearly two days, RNZ was the only major New Zealand news website carrying information about the election results, and analysis of the outcome.”

As he pointed out, since 1982, the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) had been in power and the current prime minister, Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi (now caretaker), had been prime minister since 1998.

“It’s very monumental that we’ve had a political party [opposition FAST Party led by Fiame Naomi Mata’afa] come through so quickly within 12 months to challenge the status quo in many different ways.”

Fiame has a slender one seat majority, 26 to 25, in the 51-seat Parliament, and was sworn in as government in still-disputed circumstances. But the New Zealand media coverage has still been patchy in spite of the drama of the deadlock, with the notable exception of journalists such as Barbara Dreaver, Vaimoana Tapaleao, Teuila Fuatai, and Michael Field at The Pacific Newsroom.

Woke up to Samoa crisis
The New Zealand Herald, for example, finally woke up to the crisis and splashed the story across its front page on May 25, but then for the next three days only published snippets on the crisis, all drawn from RNZ Pacific coverage. For the actual election result, the Herald only published a single paragraph buried on its foreign news pages.

As for West Papua, the silence continues. Not a single major New Zealand newspaper has given any significant treatment to the current crisis there described by The Sydney Morning Herald as a “manhunt for 170 ‘terrorists’ slammed as a ‘licence’ to shoot anyone”.

Singapore-based Chris Barrett and Karuni Rompies reported that “Indonesian forces are chasing 170 members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement [OPM]. The crackdown has reportedly displaced several thousand people.

“Tensions have been high since the separatists’ shooting in April of two teachers suspected of being Indonesian spies and the burning of three schools in Beoga, Puncak.”

This is the worst crisis in West Papua since the so-called Papuan Spring uprising and rioting in protest against Indonesian racism and repression in August 2019.

The Jakarta government was reported to have deployed some 21,000 troops in the Melanesian region, ruled since the fiercely disputed “Act of Free Choice” when 1025 people handpicked by the Indonesian military in 1969 voted to be part of Indonesia. The latest crackdown followed the killing in an ambush of a general who was head of Indonesian intelligence on April 25.

Discrimination against Papuans
This latest round of strife marks widespread opposition to Indonesia’s 20-year autonomy status for the region which is due to expire in November and is regarded by critics as a failure.

Interim president Benny Wenda of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) denounces Indonesian authorities who have variously tried to label Papuan pro-independence groups “separatists”, “armed criminal groups”, and “monkeys” (this sparked the 2019 uprising).

“Now they are labelling us ‘terrorists’. This is nothing but more discrimination against the entire people of West Papua and our struggle to uphold our basic right to self-determination,” he says.

Wenda has a message for the United Nations and Pacific leaders: “Indonesia is misusing the issue of terrorism to crush our fundamental struggle for the liberation of our land from illegal occupation and colonisation.”

The West Papua issue is a critical one for the Pacific, just like East Timor was two decades ago in the lead-up to its independence. Why is our press failing to report this?

Buoyed as he is by [Wednesday’s] court decision, Samoa’s caretaker Prime Minister has shown a character flaw weighing down upon our national politics: an inability to face up to hard truths.

Despite Tuilaepa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi having just alleged the judiciary was conspiring against him, the Appellate Court ruled in favour of his argument that a minimum of six women MPs need to be appointed to meet a mandated quota in our 51-seat Parliament. We don’t expect that contradiction to be explained anytime soon.

The victory has been seized upon by supporters of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), many of whom have incorrectly concluded the decision will lead to the installation of Aliimalemanu Alofa Tuuau and a Parliament in which the opposing party cannot form government.

• READ MORE: Other Samoan constititutional crisis reports
• Samoa’s Fiame condemns defeated PM Tuilaepa’s ‘perverse’ actions
• Samoan court voids appeal over additional women’s seat
• Fuimaono Dylan Asafo: Samoan ruling an unfortunate case of judicial overreach

They must read the court’s words, reprinted in today’s edition, more closely. In fact, the court voided Aliimalemanu’s warrant of election.

Aliimalemanu herself acknowledged this very point when she told the Samoa Observer that she did not mind which woman MP ended up being elected nor which party they were from, rather she was pleased to have struck a blow for female representation.

And, like the court we applaud her for her devotion to that worthy cause.

The reason Aliimalemanu’s election was voided was because it will not be until after the Supreme Court sorts through some 28 petitions and more counter-petitions that the rule requiring six women will be applied.

There are another six petitions involving women challenging or defending an election result alone, let alone other women candidates who could be elected if byelections are called if a legal challenge to a result is upheld. The number of women elected to the 17th Parliament of Samoa could be higher than the threshold, or it could be much much lower.

Exactly what role this unforeseen constitutional mandate will figure in the final election results is entirely unknowable.

That means two things of extreme significance for the immediate political future of this nation – neither of which Tuilaepa was willing to face up to when speaking on Wednesday afternoon.

For the time being, the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party will retain its 26-25 lead over the HRPP until the election is completely finalised.

How long the courts take to settle the dozens of legal challenges before them will likely be a matter of weeks, not months.

Tuilaepa is increasingly being less seen as a strongman who can be depended upon to steer Samoa through choppy waters as an immovable object with whom much of the political deadlock originated.

Until that time, they notionally — depending, of course — on the outcome of a legal case about the validity of the party’s swearing in, the opponents should notionally have some political breathing room to establish government.

But speaking on Wednesday, Tuilaepa sounded like a man who had not familiarised himself with even the most elementary aspects of the judgment.

He asserted the decision cemented Aliimalemanu’s election and a 26-26 tie between FAST and the HRPP and his rightful place and the ongoing future “custodian” of government in Samoa.

No person with basic literacy skills could have reached either of these conclusions after reading what the court had to say in a succinct and articulate 12-page judgment.

Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, the leader of FAST, took a different and more reasonable view of the judgment, which, as it was, a victory in principle for the HRPP but one with few practical consequences for Samoa’s immediate future.

FAST, she said, had the numbers in Parliament for now and was ready to proceed to transition to a new government, just as previous Parliaments have sat while petitions are in progress.

That puts the two leaders on a collision course that cannot spell good outcomes for this nation.

But the decision also casts in stark relief the fact that the caretaker Prime Minister has shown himself at his most arrogant during a week when he should have learned about humility.

For so many years, Tuilaepa’s tendency toward over-the-top statements have merged with his public-political persona. But it is only in recent weeks as he has begun to feel his power ebb in the wake of an election defeat that we have seen the true depth of the caretaker Prime Minister’s unrelenting self-regard.

He dared to allege only a little more than a week ago that there was a conspiracy against him being cooked up by the nation’s judiciary after his party lost four court battles in a row while trying to use the courts to prevent a new government forming.

Tuilaepa then sought to assume for himself a merged role of judge, jury and Prime Minister by condemning FAST for holding an improvised swearing-in ceremony in order to uphold the constitution.

“I am well versed with this law because I own it; it’s mine,” he said.

Only weeks earlier he said that he was “appointed by God” to lead Samoa and that the judiciary had no authority over his appointment.

The recent decisions of the Supreme Court should have disabused him of the idea that the rule of law is something one man can own.

But the public of Samoa, in one way or another, be it by way of the ballot box or making their feelings known will prove decisive in the resolution of this seemingly endless political saga.

In this time of crisis Tuilaepa’s bombastic persona is no longer proving a political asset but rather something which grates upon the voters of Samoa, and he is losing support evidently.

He is increasingly being less seen as a strongman who can be depended upon to steer Samoa through choppy waters as an immovable object with whom much of the political deadlock originated.

The HRPP have been champing at the bit for another election to be called as a recourse to holding onto power.

But despite winning an absolute number of votes in the April election, almost every step taken by the party and its leader in the interim has done little to endear Tuilaepa to the public. If things continue as they are, the political confidence he had in April is likely to have evaporated by this month’s end.

We saw just as much at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral at Mulivai on Monday evening when he became the subject of a sermon and a general character appraisal by the Archbishop of the Catholic Church, Alapati Lui Mataeliga.

Tuilaepa, not known for welcoming differences of opinion, looked every inch a man in a furnace.

With his eyes closed and fan working overtime, he almost appeared to be hoping to deflect the Archbishop’s words.

It did not, of course.

His Grace’s sentiments are still lingering, long since his homily concluded.

The Archbishop referred to himself as Tuilaepa’s “spiritual father” and indeed he performed his role in this respect by dispensing some home truths to a man — and a nation — in need of them.

Speaking on the eve of Independence Day, His Grace noted that Samoa has had a history of oppression before; we have been colonised by Tongan, German and New Zealand forces in our recent history. Our paramount chiefs have had their natural status constrained and our people have suffered under the yoke of colonial governments which have misused their powers for personal gain.

The historical parallel was obvious.

The Archbishop lamented the current state of the nation which became the first in the Pacific to free itself from colonial rule but only after a long struggle.

“There is no peace and there is no unison and it appears as if our forefather’s shed blood for no reason,” he said.

“We are affected by [our leaders] abusing power due to high-mindedness and dictatorship.

“Without Samoa, there would be no leaders and the people should be well aware of that, the power in which is being abused by these leaders was given to them by us, the members of the public.”

Perhaps Monday’s homily dispossessed him of the conviction that he has a divine right to the Prime Minister’s chair.

It is impossible that Tuilaepa does not realise that his recent actions have sown division in this country.

The government’s recent decree that there be no public celebration of Independence Day clearly reflected a political fear of that day’s symbolism. The notional excuse provided, that large gatherings posed a risk to the public health, was undermined completely the day before when the Prime Minister addressed more than one thousand political supporters.

To have the head of your faith tell hurtful and shabby truths about your conduct must, even for a man of Tuilaepa’s bravado, be a wounding experience. For the sake of the country’s immediate future, we must hope against every indication it was also, deep down, a humbling one.

The Samoa Observer editorial of 2 June 2021. Republished with permission.

Samoa’s Court of Appeal (CA) ruled yesterday that Article 44(1A) of the Constitution requires that six women should sit in Parliament. With all due respect, I believe that the CA’s decision was incorrect.

This is on the grounds that the CA has overreached its powers by encroaching on the law-making powers of Parliament and has made an unpragmatic (or impractical) decision that has now prolonged and further complicated Samoa’s constitutional crisis.

While the CA’s decision is final and cannot be appealed, I believe that it is still important that this decision be critiqued because the decision has set a dangerous precedent for future judges interpreting the Constitution — a precedent which essentially signals to them that they can disregard the clear and unequivocal words of the Constitution and insert their own words as they see fit.

• READ MORE: Other Samoan constititutional crisis reports
• Samoa’s Fiame condemns defeated PM Tuilaepa’s ‘perverse’ actions
• Samoan court voids appeal over additional women’s seat

To be clear, nothing in this critique should be taken as my disapproval or dissatisfaction with the fact that more women are now required to sit in Parliament.

It goes without saying that having only six women in a Parliament with 51 seats is shameful for any country and is representative of a deeply entrenched gender inequity problem in Samoa that must be addressed.

However, I believe that it is important for all Samoans to understand both the dangerous precedent that has been set by the CA and the wider implications of the decision on Samoa’s constitutional crisis.

Accordingly, I set out three reasons here why I believe that that the CA’s decision was incorrect:

1. The CA encroached on the law-making powers of Parliament by ignoring the explicit wording of Article 44 of the Constitution
As stated in the Supreme Court’s judgment, the court’s function is to “give primary attention to the words used, and the Court does not have the power and ability to go beyond the clear and unequivocal words used”. This function was made clear in three previous landmark Court of Appeal cases on constitutional interpretation: Attorney-General v Saipaia Olomalu, Mulitalo v Attorney General, and Jackson & Ors v Attorney General.

This statement of the court’s function recognises the fundamental importance of the doctrine of separation of powers in any democracy. The doctrine of separation of powers follows that it is only for the democratically elected Parliament to make and amend the law (including the Constitution) and the courts, as the unelected independent body, should only interpret and apply the law as Parliament intended and not make or amend the law themselves.

In this case, the “clear and unequivocal words” of Article 44(1A)(a) that the Court of Appeal had to apply are: “…women Members of the Legislative Assembly shall: (a) consist of a minimum of 10 percent of the Members of the Legislative Assembly specified under clause (1) which for the avoidance of doubt is presently 5”.

Therefore, the CA’s decision to ignore the explicit wording of Article 44(1A) demonstrates that it consciously chose not to take the correct approach to interpret the Constitution that has been laid down in key landmark cases.

In the CA’s judgment, they state that “there is a principled way to resolve the two ideas which are presently before the court…guided by well-established principles of interpretation from earlier rulings of this Court”.

In my view, the CA’s approach to constitutional interpretation was not at all “principled”, but bizarre and dubious in a way that hopefully would not be adopted by any courts after them. This dubious approach was supported and encouraged by the arguments submitted by counsel for the appellants, that in my view, were insincere and unduly motivated by political gain.

In adopting this dubious approach, the CA deliberately ignored the great (if not determinative) significance of the passing of the Constitution Amendment Act 2019. This 2019 Act amended Article 44 to increase the number of seats in Parliament from 49 to 51 specifically for the “2021 general elections”

If they gave proper consideration to the impact of the 2019 Act, the CA would have recognised that if Parliament wanted to increase the minimum number of seats for women to six, they would have changed “five” to “six” while amending Article 44 for the “2021 general elections” when they had the chance. However, Parliament did not do this, and the courts are not authorised to do this for them.

Parliament’s choice to leave “five” in Article 44(1A)(a) untouched while amending other parts of the Article 44 specifically should be taken as a clear indication that they intended the minimum number of women to remain “five” and not “six” for the “2021 general elections”. Again, it should be emphasised that under the doctrine of the separation of powers, only Parliament can amend the Constitution as the democratically elected body – not the unelected judiciary.

In an attempt to reason or justify their disregard for the clear and unambiguous wording of the Constitution, the CA looked to the overall purpose of Article 44(1A) and said that: “We consider that Article 44 1A [of the constitution] is ambiguous as to the ideas it promotes and that primacy should be given to whichever of the competing ideas best promotes the establishment of human rights practice in Samoa.”

However, the CA knew, or should have known, that it is not for them, as a body of unelected apolitical justices, to consider political matters like what “best promotes the establishment of human rights practice in Samoa”. It is only for Parliament to do so as the democratically elected body which has been chosen by the people of Samoa to debate and legislate on these political issues.

This particular separation of powers is in place for a very good reason — Parliament is the only body that has the capabilities, time and resources to consider submissions from people in Samoa, (including experts and groups specialising in the relevant issues) in order to make the best laws possible that represent the will of the people. In contrast, the courts do not have the capabilities, time and resources to fully consider matters of great importance before making or amending the law (including the Constitution).

More fundamentally, judges and justices of the courts have not been elected by the people or appointed by elected officials based on their political views or sensibilities as MPs have. In fact, they have the constitutional mandate to act apolitically and objectively when interpreting and applying the law.

Therefore, I believe that the CA’s decision sets a dangerous precedent for other courts to possibly follow, where they have signalled to other judges and justices who’ll interpret the Constitution that they’re permitted to disregard clear and unequivocal words of the Constitution and insert their own words as they see fit.

2. The CA has encroached on the law-making powers of Parliament by creating its own process for Article 44(1A)

Another major part of the CA’s decision is the finding that a sixth woman can only be added only after all petitions and potential byelections have been completed.

For reasons similar to the ones I have given above, I argue that the CA’s creation of a process for Article 44(1A) was an overreach of their powers because it is only for Parliament to design and explicitly set out this process in the Constitution or any relevant legislation (i.e. the Electoral Act).

This was rightfully respected by Justice Tuatagaloa and Justice Vaai in the Supreme Court, who observed in their joint judgment that Parliament needed to provide:

“Some clarity as to the ‘process’ to be followed when Article 44(1A) is activated. There is no process provided in regards to a woman candidate appointed pursuant to Article 44(1A). Section 84 of the Electoral Act refers to successful candidates or elected candidates. Section 2 of the Electoral Act defines the word ‘election’ means the election of a Member in a general election or byelection to represent a constituency. The woman candidate coming in through Article 44(1A) is (in our view) not ‘elected’.”

Here, Justice Tuatagaloa and Justice Vaai acknowledge that Parliament (in 2013 and 2019) unfortunately did not provide a clear process for the activation of Article 44(1A). However, both justices chose not to go beyond their constitutional powers to engineer and create this process themselves.

Instead, they appreciated that it is only appropriate for Parliament to create this process lawfully and transparently after they have taken the time to fully consider the merits of different options and ideas.

Unfortunately, the CA did not show such respect for Parliament and the separation of powers and decided to engineer and create their own process for Article 44(1A) in less than three days.

In my view, the CA should have simply interpreted the clear and unambiguous words of Article 44(1A) as mentioned above, and stated that it was therefore unnecessary for them to discuss the process as this was a matter for Parliament to determine.

While the CA attempted to design their process with some regard to the practical realities surrounding election petitions, counter petitions and potential byelections — it was still wrong for them to create this process in the fraught context of a dispute in which arguments from parties, namely the appellants, are motivated by political gain.

Therefore, it would not be surprising if the rushed and unprincipled manner in which the CA created the process provides even more confusion, ambiguity, conflict and controversy in the near or distant future. In any case, it is hoped that the new Parliament takes the time needed to fix the problems with Article 44(1A), before designing a new process following its activation, fairly and democratically.

3. The CA’s process for Article 44 is unpragmatic for prolonging and further complicating Samoa’s constitutional crisis

Aside from the issues with the CA’s problematic interpretation of the Constitution, the CA’s decision should also be criticised as being unpragmatic (or in other words, impractical) for having the effect of prolonging and further complicating Samoa’s constitutional crisis.

The CA’s finding that a sixth woman can only be added after all petitions and potential byelections have been completed (and there are still only five women MPs), means that the addition of another woman MP could be several months away. This is due to the sheer volume of petitions that the courts are due to consider next week, a reality the CA was no doubt aware of.

While the courts are not necessarily required to be influenced by what is pragmatic and best for the general wellbeing and smooth running of the country, it is hoped that they at least do not go out of their way to make decisions that would create further uncertainty and delay in a country suffering from an already drawn out constitutional crisis.

Of course, there is already a degree of uncertainty around which party would hold the majority of seats due to the unprecedented number of petitions that have been filed and are yet to be heard,

However, adding the potential activation of Article 44(1A) to the mix does not help things at all. This has already been seen by how both the leaders of the FAST party and the HRPP have interpreted the CA’s decision to mean that their parties hold the majority in judgement and should be able to govern until the election petitions and any potential by-elections are completed.

In my view, had the CA interpreted Article 44(1A) in the correct, honest and principled manner (to find that the minimum number of seats for women is “five” and not six) this would not be a legitimate dispute as the leader of the HRPP would not have any real reason to believe that a sixth woman MP could be added as a 52nd seat in parliament in their favour.

FAST would then have a clearer path for transitioning into the government — a path which I believe they legitimately have because in my view, their convening of parliament was legitimate and constitutional in the extraordinary circumstances Samoa was facing. [NOTE: Although the constitutionality of FAST’s swearing-in on 24 May 2021 is another matter due to be heard by the courts on Friday, I have argued in a previous opinion piece that their swearing-in was constitutional and that the courts should declare this when they do rule on this case — most likely sometime next week.]

Another practical problem the CA could have (and should have) avoided was the risk of creating an even-numbered hung Parliament of 52, with each party having 26 seats. When Article 44(1A) was introduced in 2013, the parliament of that day (and any day up to the 2021 general election) didn’t foresee that its activation could lead to an even-numbered hung parliament which could create major issues in the future. For example, a hung 52 seated parliament (with 26 seats for both parties) could lead the Head of State to use their powers under Article 63 to dissolve parliament and call for a new general election on the grounds that the office of the Prime Minister has vacant beyond a “reasonable period” of time (Article 63(2)) or that the Prime Minister does not command the majority in parliament (Article 63(3)). With due respect, it can only be hoped that this wasn’t the underlying motivation behind the CA’s decision.

In any case, there is an urgent need for a government to come into power to govern Samoa. This is not only because Samoa is in a global pandemic, but also because the government should have already set and announced its annual budget by this time in the year. Therefore, the CA’s decision shows an unfortunate lack of pragmatism for which the people of Samoa will continue to bear the costs.

A case of ‘judicial activism’?
Some might celebrate and defend the CA’s decision as a case of “judicial activism” because it was apparently decided in the interests of gender equality and human rights in Samoa.

“Judicial activism” is a term that refers to when judges go outside their apolitical and objective roles to become “activists” in the courtroom pursuing their political agendas. They do this by interpreting and applying laws in a way that is obviously incorrect and contrary to established legal principles because they believe that the outcome would be morally unacceptable and unjust according to their political beliefs if they did not.

One key instance of “judicial activism” in New Zealand was in the 1985 case of Finnigan v New Zealand Rugby Football. In this case, the Court of Appeal of NZ disregarded well established legal principles in order to prevent the All Blacks from touring South Africa during the nation’s apartheid era.

It is well known now that the justices hearing this case were influenced not only by anti-apartheid protests outside the courtroom but by their own values and beliefs against South Africa’s racist system.

Of course, anyone committed to anti-racism (and the fundamental human right to freedom from discrimination) would not question or fault the Court of Appeal of NZ for being judicial activists in the Finnigan case. However, in my view, the CA’s decision should not be seen or understood as a legitimate and justified case of “judicial activism” like that in Finnigan.

Some may disagree and argue that the need to have six women (rather than five) in Parliament is a critically urgent and important human rights and social justice issue that is analogous or comparable to the moral dilemma the NZ justices faced in the Finnigan case.

However, if anything, this litigation has shown that Article 44(1A) is a deeply flawed mechanism for ensuring the representation of women in Parliament and upholding Samoa’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In my view, instead of further complicating a deeply flawed mechanism during a constitutional crisis, the CA should have upheld the observations of Justice Tuatagaloa and Justice Vaai in the Supreme Court to allow Parliament (and the people of Samoa whose voices they represent) to improve Samoa’s deeply entrenched gender inequity issue in the fair and transparent manner that is expected of a democratic state.

In terms of what a new gender-based quota system for Samoa would look like, it is clear that the new Parliament will need to pay closer attention to the laws and experiences of other democratic countries that have introduced similar gender-based quota laws, such as Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark who have since achieved an average of 40 percent women in their parliaments.

It’s also important that the new Parliament tackle deeply entrenched gender inequity in Samoan politics more broadly. A 2015 report on “Political Representation and Women’s Empowerment in Samoa” by the Centre for Samoan Studies at the National University of Samoa (NUS) found that Article 44(1A) would “not address what this research found to be the core issue: the barriers to women’s equal participation in local government” and that Samoa does not have gender parity laws and candidate pre-selection mechanisms that other countries like France, Timor-Leste, Senegal and Rwanda have introduced to increase the number of women in their parliaments.

Similarly, Kiki Matire has commented that while Article 44(1A) would increase the representation of women in Samoa’s parliament, “much more needs to be done to address the cultural and tangible obstacles to women as political leaders”.

Fuimaono Dylan Asafo is a law lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland. He holds a Master of Laws from Harvard University and a Master of Laws (First Class Honours) from the University of Auckland. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The leaders of Samoa’s two main political parties have finally found something to agree upon since the April 9 general election – they will meet.

Following yesterday’s Court of Appeal ruling, both the caretaker prime minister Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi and prime minister-elect, FAST Party leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, announced they plan to meet.

But it is clear their intentions are miles apart.

• READ MORE: Other Samoan constititutional crisis reports
• Samoa’s Fiame condemns defeated PM Tuilaepa’s ‘perverse’ actions
• Samoan court voids appeal over additional women’s seat

Speaking on TV3 Samoa yesterday, Tuilaepa acknowledged the ruling to void the appointment of a sixth woman MP meant his HRPP has 25 seats to FAST’s 26.

Fiame told local media that with those numbers, they will be looking to meet with Tuila’epa to discuss his departure from office.

“We hope to meet with Tuila’epa, the leader of the HRPP and one who has been at the helm of our government, so we can discuss a transition based on the results as they stand of 26 FAST and 25 HRPP,” she said.

Tuila’epa, however, said he believed that his government was still the caretaker government until all election petitions and any resulting by-elections were completed.

In its decision the court said it held that the determination under Article 44(1A) of the Constitution must be made on the basis of the general election results as finally determined after the results of any electoral petitions under the Electoral Act 2019 and byelections pursuant to the terms of that Act.

Tuila’epa said it is clear that Parliament cannot convene until then.

“We have a chance to settle this in the traditional way,” he said.

It is not known when the meeting will take place.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

A Court of Appeal decision today may pave the way for the FAST party to assume control of the Samoan government.

Samoa’s Court of Appeal has voided the legal challenge by a Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) women’s candidate, who said she was wrongly removed as an MP.

Ali’imalemanu Alofa Tuuau had been appointed as the sixth woman’s MP by the Electoral Commissioner, but then had her appointment rescinded in a decision by the Supreme Court.

• READ MORE: Other Samoan constititutional crisis reports
• Samoa’s Fiame condemns defeated PM Tuilaepa’s ‘perverse’ actions

That decision gave the newcomer Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party the slimmest majority in the new Parliament, and this latest decision now confirms that.

But, as FAST party lawyer Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu explained, the court also ruled that six women MPs was the correct number under the Samoan system of reserving parliamentary seats for women.

“But, that the decision whether or not to add a woman to make up the six cannot be determined until after the electoral petitions and the byelections are complete,” she said.

“So that there is certainty as to the exact members that make up the Parliament.”

Attempts by FAST to assume power have been thwarted at several points by HRPP leader Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, who had been prime minister since 1999.

What does this decision mean?
HRPP leader Tuila’epa welcomed the Court of Appeal’s decision in clarifying the interpretation of Article 44 of the Constitution, which allows for no less than 10 percent of the elected members of parliament to be women.

The decision clarified that 10 percent of the elected members should be calculated as six women, and not five, as the FAST Party argued.

But the Court of Appeal did not allow the Electoral Commissioner’s appeal, and said he acted unconstitutionally when he appointed the sixth woman member, Ali’imalemanu Alofa Tuuau.

The Appeal Court panel of Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese and Justices Tafaoimalo Leilani Tuala-Warren and Fepulea’i Ameperosa Roma said the sixth women’s seat could not  be declared until all election petitions, and any subsequent byelections, were completed.

Speaking on TV3 this afternoon, Tuila’epa confirmed that his party now had 25 seats.

The ruling indicated that if a woman should win a byelection then there would be no need to activate Article 44 of the Constitution.

Tuila’epa said he would again seek a meeting with the leadership of FAST to discuss the way forward, but he argued that his caretaker government would remain until all petitions and byelections had been completed.

Last week, the FAST party swore themselves in as the next government, installing leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa as the Prime Minister.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Samoa’s 59th Independence Day has come and gone, without the usual fanfare and intense patriotism we have grown accustomed to from previous years.

What we’ve seen for the last few weeks and indeed months has tested the strength of our democracy at the highest of levels and the lowest of lows.

Our Independence document, our Constitution, set out the supreme law for self-governance. The preamble outlines what Samoa stands for as a sovereign nation.

• READ MORE: Other Samoan constititutional crisis reports
• Samoa’s Fiame condemns defeated PM Tuilaepa’s ‘perverse’ actions

IN THE HOLY NAME OF GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, THE EVER LOVING
WHEREAS sovereignty over the Universe belongs to the Omnipresent God alone and the authority to be exercised by the people of Samoa within the limits prescribed by God’s commandments is a sacred heritage.
WHEREAS the Leaders of Samoa have declared that Samoa should be an Independent State based on Christian principles and Samoan custom and tradition
AND WHEREAS the Constitutional Convention, representing the people of Samoa, has resolved to frame a Constitution for the Independent State of Samoa
WHEREIN the State should exercise its powers and authority through the chosen representatives of the people
WHEREIN should be secured to all the people their fundamental rights
WHEREIN the impartial administration of justice should be fully maintained
AND WHEREIN the integrity of Samoa, its independence, and all its rights should be safeguarded
NOW THEREFORE, we the people of Samoa in our Constitutional Convention, this 28th day of October 1960, do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution.

The founding document of our government has undergone the toughest stress test it has ever had to go through, with poking and prodding and pulling and tugging from legal minds, concerned citizens, inquisitive media and the endless electioneering of politicians.

All while the silent backdrop of a global pandemic and economic recession keeps us wary of possibly greater perils.

So what is there to feel proud of this Independence Day?

Well, despite the challenges and political instability, we have not descended in to chaos or a state of anarchy. The people of this country continue to keep the engines moving, whether they are the struggling private sector or threatened public service.

While the question of Parliamentary majority remains unknown with an appeal pending before the Courts, and both the Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) and Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) staking their claims on the executive government, Samoa has remained peaceful and mostly respectful of each other.

Where we find deficiencies in leadership, we take the reins and steer our own families and communities towards peaceful accord.

There may be passionate differences of opinion, but for the most part we are still in this rocky boat together.

As we have seen with the unusual sight of protests in recent weeks, our people are able to defy cultural norms and use their constitutional rights to protest peacefully.

The Samoa Solidarity International Group (SSIG) protests were led by a woman. The Women Empowerment march was led by women. These are the pae and auli of our families and communities. They are generally seen to be the background advisors and soothsayers. And yet there they were, front and center on the national stage, speaking up for what they believe.

This year’s Independence may be a muted affair, but its significance is great as we remember the rights and privileges that come with being citizens of a sovereign nation.

All citizens have the right to freedom of speech and expression; to assemble peaceably and without arms; to form associations or unions and to move freely throughout Samoa and reside in any part.

We have seen this exemplified in recent weeks and months with the people of this country using their right to assemble and listen to election campaigning, to form supporter groups and debate one another on the merits of their chosen political affiliations.

This newspaper has also used its privilege to bring to light issues that best reflect its values and adherence to journalism standards and ethics.

All people are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection under the law. We have seen this in action as our Police have done their best to provide protection and lawful interventions across the board during this political crisis.

The Head of State’s Independence Address calls for a return to Christian values as a way to solve the political impasse. He called on the people of Samoa to reflect and remember our ancestors and those who fought for Samoa’s freedom, whose sacrifices enabled us to live as an independent nation.

This was his first public statement in over a week; since his proclamation to suspend an earlier call for Parliament to convene. He called on all leaders – church, government, private sector, political – and every citizen to seek guidance from God to solve the current political impasse.

The carefully worded speech by the Head of State acknowledges that our crisis will take all of us to fix. His reference to youth is also noteworthy.

“On this day, the youth of Samoa should feel the special pride of being citizens of a free nation; let us ensure this is a legacy they will be proud to pass on,” he said.

At this very moment in our history, the impasse is not a legacy anyone should be proud to pass on. But the peacefulness of our people, in this crisis, most definitely is.

Last year’s announcement of a muted national celebration, without a parade and the singing and dancing of villages assigned the honour of entertaining our dignitaries and our country, was met with disappointment. But we accepted the decision due to concerns over the coronavirus.

This year, a call to have another virtual ceremony to mark our 59th Independence, appears to be less about public health concerns and more about our political instability.

After all, how would you host an official celebration with two prime ministers staking their claim on this country?

So we are grateful for the resilience and independent spirit of our people, who took it upon themselves to host their own celebrations.

As shown in our Tuesday edition, Samoa Primary held their own Independence Day fete on Monday with tributes to Samoan tradition such as artwork displays, dancing and singing, the preparation and serving of Samoan food. They even had a float parade.

“Every year’s celebration is remembering our forefathers who have fought for the independence of Samoa and for that we give the opportunity to the students to expand their minds and research former leaders and also those who were fighting for the sake of our country,” said principal Anne Leauga.

On Independence Day itself, we witnessed a few community events starting with Falelauniu, where the Church of Nazareth braved the rain and put on a parade in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Pastor Toeleiu Alatise told this newspaper that he hoped the youth find the spirit of Independence, despite there not being any national celebrations.

“It took two weeks to prepare this event for the children as we had received news that there will be no Independence celebrations, so we prepared this,” he said.

The Marist Old Pupils Association also came together and hosted their own Independence parade, flag raising and celebrations.

The keynote address was given by the Association’s Patron, 81-year-old Tuala Tom Annandale.

“I am happy to see each and every one of our Marist brothers participating in the celebration of the 59th independence day of Samoa,” he said.

“We leave politics aside and focus on the celebration itself as we are all one; we are all called the children of Mother Mary.

“Once you enter the gate, whatever title you have will stay behind gates. We are known as one.”

In whatever way you celebrated Samoa’s 59th Independence Day, we hope you did so in the spirit of appreciation for the great privilege we have been given, to live freely and to choose our own paths as individuals and as a nation.

The Samoa Observer editorial on 2 June 2021. Republished with permission.

Samoa’s incoming leader has condemned the actions of the former government and demanded it hand over power.

Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, speaking formally as the country’s elected prime minister, slammed the behaviour of Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi and his Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP).

Fiame’s FAST party, which won 26 seats in last month’s election – a majority of one, and the previous ruling party, HRPP, are waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on several contentious issues.

• READ MORE: Other Samoan crisis reports

Speaking in a broadcast from FAST headquarters, Fiame said MPs and officials must move from their roles and offices and allow the public service to focus on its work in a business like and orderly way.

She warned the 25 HRPP MPs they must take steps to have themselves sworn in or risk being forced into byelections.

Fiame also said the recent attacks on the judiciary by the caretaker prime minister, Tuila’epa, and some government officials, had severely undermined the rule of law.

She called this “a perversity” and said it would be addressed shortly, “make no mistake”.

‘Severely undermined by corruption, abuse …’
“While all of democracy’s checks and balances and the public officeholders meant to protect us, have been severely undermined by corruption, nepotism and the abuse of power, help is on the way as we move into a time for restoration and revival,” she said.

Fiame, though, praised the previous achievements of Tuila’epa.

She said his legacy was a remarkable one, both nationally and internationally, for which the country is grateful, but it was being undermined by Tuila’epa’s recent actions.

“The more disruptive and disrespectful you become the more that unique legacy is diminished and tarnished, by your own words and your own deeds,” she said.

“Please think of our people and allow our government to take the reins of power from you, peacefully, respectfully and honourably.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Samoa found itself in a constitutional crisis this week when the caretaker Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) government locked the doors to Parliament in an attempt to stop prime minister-elect Fiame Naomi Mata’afa being sworn in to office following her FAST party’s one-seat election win.

Samoa now finds itself in the position of having “two governments” claiming a mandate to rule, and the United Nations is urging the party leaders to find a solution through discussion.

Saturday Morning host Julian Willcox (Ngāpuhi, Te Arawa), broadcaster and Te Reo orator deputising for RNZ presenter Kim Hill, talks to Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson (pictured). She is the Apia-based editor of Pacific Environment Weekly and has been covering events surrounding Samoa’s election.

Jackson also talks about the abuse faced on line by her and other Pacific journalists when reporting unwelcome facts and says it is part of the territory of being a journalist.

Cherelle Jackson on Twitter

• LISTEN TO RNZ: Julian Willcox talks Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson

I do not condone offensive name-calling, purposeful embarrassment, threats of physical violence, online harassment and insinuations of sexual harassment on my Tweets through comments and/or in the sharing of content on Samoa election.
They are still Chiefs
Keep to topic!

— Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson (@lagipoiva) May 28, 2021

Amid a mountainload of work this week in the [Samoan] Attorney-General’s Office – as the caretaker government’s lawyers look over the constitution for ways to “delegitimise” Monday’s Parliament swearing-in of Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party members – Attorney-General Savalenoa Mareva Betham-Annandale still finds time to issue another press release accusing the Samoa Observer of misinformation and “attempting to control the narrative”.

Savalenoa didn’t agree with the story titled “A.G. seeks interim orders to stop new Govt. transition” which was published on the front page of the Wednesday, 26 May 2021, edition of the Samoa Observer.

The story reported on plans by the Attorney-General’s Office to go to the Supreme Court to stop the transition of the new government, as the office was of the view that the swearing-in ceremony of FAST party members conducted outside the Parliament chamber, but within its precinct, on Monday afternoon is illegal.

• READ MORE: Attorney-General’s office attacks Chief Justice as Samoan political crisis deepens
• Fiame calls for Tuila’epa to end Samoa’s ‘enormous assault’
• Despite a veneer of democracy, Samoa is sliding into autocracy
  
• Samoan democracy hangs in the balance as a constitutional arm wrestle plays out
• Samoa’s stunning election result: on the verge of a new ruling party for the first time in 40 years
• Samoa incumbent leader needs to ‘get a grip’, says PM-elect Fiame
• FAST heading back to court to try and resolve political impasse in Samoa
• Other Samoan political crisis reports on Asia Pacific Report
• RNZ’s live updates
• The Pacific Newsroom’s updates
• What you need to know about the Samoa crisis
• The Samoa Observer editorial – Swearing-in strengthens nation’s foundation

However, the Attorney-General said the story is misconstrued and her Office didn’t seek an interim order to stop “new government transition”.

Instead, Savalenoa, says her Office filed two applications in the Supreme Court on Monday and Tuesday this week to declare that “the FAST purported swearing in as unconstitutional and unlawful”, and an ex-parte notice of motion is “seeking interim orders to stay and suspend the legal effect of FAST purported swearing-in as it is unconstitutional and unlawful”.

So can an English teacher tell us the difference between our article reporting on “plans by the Attorney-General’s Office to go to the Supreme Court to stop the transition of the new government” and the overall goal of the two Supreme Court applications which the Attorney-General specifically makes reference to in her press release?

Isn’t the ultimate objective of both the Attorney-General’s office-filed applications for declaratory orders and an ex-parte notice of motion about stopping the FAST party headed by Fiame Naomi Mata’afa from forming government?

It is incredulous seeing Savalenoa getting so worked up over a newspaper article – when the judiciary of which she is part and partial of and swore an oath to protect – continues to be ridiculed and kicked around like a football by the very people she continues to report to and represent in Court.

At the end of the press release, the Attorney-General claims that the “misinformation” by the Samoa Observer is this newspaper’s “attempt to control the narrative of what is actually happening”.

The charge by Savalenoa that this newspaper is attempting to “control the narrative” of this week’s events is ridiculous, especially when millions around the world, thanks to social media and Samoa’s mainstream media (including this newspaper), saw how the caretaker government locked the Parliament in breach of the Supreme Court orders, in an attempt to stop the swearing-in of the XVII Legislative Assembly.

Can the Attorney-General tell us where she stands on the decision by the Head of State, His Highness Tuimaleali’ifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, to overlook the Supreme Court’s orders in relation to the convening of the Parliament on Monday?

And was the Attorney-General privy to the decision by the Head of State to breach the order of the Supreme Court by suspending the convening of the XVII Parliament on Monday?

The honourable thing for Savalenoa to do a week or two ago, when it became obvious that the caretaker Prime Minister Tuila’epa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi and Head of State would disregard the orders of the Supreme Court, was to resign, to not only protect the integrity of her office but to show citizens and the world that as a lawyer she cares about the rule of law and our democratic foundations.

But it has become obvious in the last week or so that she has chosen to walk a path which has coincided with the trampling of Samoa’s 59-year-old constitution – the very document that gives breath and life to her title and office as the Attorney-General of Samoa – and in the same vein witnessed the attacks on the Supreme Court and breaching of its orders without lifting a finger.

Attorney-General: how much more damage do our institutions that are key in the administration of justice in Samoa have to sustain before you step in and start upholding the constitution and the values it stands for in line with the responsibilities of your office?

But then we remind ourselves that we are not within the “secret whisper” circle with the caretaker Prime Minister, to afford ourselves the privilege of making judicial appointments such as the Chief Justice, and then turn around and cry wolf every time a court ruling goes against us and our interests.

Remember him talking during his press conference the other day of bringing in foreign judges because he didn’t trust the locally-constituted bench and accused them of favouritism?

It makes you wonder how much more does this country of under 200,000 people have to dance to Tuila’epa’s music simply because he didn’t like a court judgement.

There is no doubt that this constitutional crisis has left our judiciary battered and the long term-effect of the loss of public confidence in our courts and the rule of law will not augur for the future of this nation.

It is why the memo sent out by the Samoa Law Society on Wednesday –- which reminded all lawyers who are members of the society of their “fundamental duties” as practitioners of the law and as barristers and solicitors of the Supreme Court –- could not have come at a better time for the legal profession.

On the last page of the memo, the Samoa Law Society states in one of the paragraphs: “The danger of course, is that when the public is misinformed (inadvertently or otherwise) about the efficacy and value of the judicial process, the respect for the institution of the courts and the rule of law is lessened, and we are one step closer to anarchy and lawlessness.”

We continued to be in awe of the steadfastness of the Chief Justice, His Honour Satiu Sativa Perese and his justices as well as the judges of all levels of the courts in the face of adversity.

But the responsibility of upholding the rule of law does not just belong to His Honour and his justices as well as the judges and lawyers, but everyone who swore an oath to this nation, including the caretaker Prime Minister, the Head of State and the Attorney-General.

The Samoa Observer editorial on 28 May 2021. It has been republished here with permission.

Samoa’s Attorney-General has recalled a scathing media release questioning the integrity of the country’s judiciary.

The release demanded that the judges appointed to hear an election appeal be disqualified because of, it was claimed, the judges’ alleged potential conflicts of interest and potential favouritism.

“There is now substantive evidence before our office that is questioning the appearance of impartiality and integrity of the judiciary presiding over this matter,” the statement said.

• READ MORE: Attorney-General’s office attacks Chief Justice as Samoan political crisis deepens
• Fiame calls for Tuila’epa to end Samoa’s ‘enormous assault’
• Despite a veneer of democracy, Samoa is sliding into autocracy
  
• Samoan democracy hangs in the balance as a constitutional arm wrestle plays out
• Samoa’s stunning election result: on the verge of a new ruling party for the first time in 40 years
• Samoa incumbent leader needs to ‘get a grip’, says PM-elect Fiame
• FAST heading back to court to try and resolve political impasse in Samoa
• Other Samoan political crisis reports on Asia Pacific Report
• RNZ’s live updates
• The Pacific Newsroom’s updates
• What you need to know about the Samoa crisis
• The Samoa Observer editorial – Swearing-in strengthens nation’s foundation

The release added that it was also apparent that the FAST party leader was a close relative of the Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese.

But last evening, a brief statement was sent out in the Attorney-General’s name, which said the release was not authorised and apologised for what it called an unfortunate situation.

Tuila’epa offers dialogue with FAST – but still wants new poll
Samoa’s caretaker prime minister said he and his Human Rights Protection Party had held out “an olive branch” to the majority Faatuatua I Le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) Party so that the political impasse could be resolved.

On his weekly TV3 programme, Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi reached out to FAST’s leadership for a dialogue to resolve matters.

But it came with a caveat – if the HRPP withdraws petitions in the courts, and FAST does so too, the country can go back to the polls.

“That is what it is now, and it is not hard trying to resolve what’s happening. We can easily withdraw our petitions from the court and we should go back to the polling booths,” said Tuila’epa.

That is despite FAST winning the April 9 election by a single seat.

Tuila’epa added that the last resort was the court, but with the recent judgements by the judiciary HRPP did not believe in their independence anymore.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Australia and New Zealand are being urged to follow the lead of the Federated States of Micronesia, and recognise Fiame Naomi Mata’afa as Samoa’s Prime Minister, reports Pacnews.

But neither Australia nor New Zealand are showing any signs of making such a declaration, with both governments towing the diplomatic line of urging all parties to “uphold the rule of law and respect the democratic process”.

In a similar vein, Henry Puna’s first statement since taking over as Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum, says the Forum family encourages all parties to pursue peaceful means to resolve their difficulties

• READ MORE: Attorney-General attacks Chief Justice as Samoan political crisis deepens
• Fiame calls for Tuila’epa to end Samoa’s ‘enormous assault’
• Despite a veneer of democracy, Samoa is sliding into autocracy
  
• Samoan democracy hangs in the balance as a constitutional arm wrestle plays out
• Samoa’s stunning election result: on the verge of a new ruling party for the first time in 40 years
• Samoa incumbent leader needs to ‘get a grip’, says PM-elect Fiame
• FAST heading back to court to try and resolve political impasse in Samoa
• Other Samoan political crisis reports on Asia Pacific Report
• RNZ’s live updates
• The Pacific Newsroom’s updates
• What you need to know about the Samoa crisis
• The Samoa Observer editorial – Swearing-in strengthens nation’s foundation

But Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) President David Panuelo is not afraid to back Fiame, and he is unhappy with Australia and New Zealand’s approach, says ABC Pacific Beat.

The Federated States of Micronesia Recognizes the Legitimacy of Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa: https://t.co/xnxhQUC643 pic.twitter.com/KJK0jiVAwJ

— Federated States of Micronesia Public Information (@FSMPIO) May 24, 2021

“The FSM announced its support for the newly sworn-in Prime Minister Fiame for the same reasons that we denounce former US president Donald Trump for his embrace of fascism and rejection of democracy,” Panuelo said.

Pacnews reports that he urged other democratic countries to show their support for Samoa’s elected leader.

“Australia and New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands Forum for that matter, all have important economic and cultural ties with Samoa [but] I can disagree with them for being silent for now,” Panuelo said.

Senator Heine congratulates Fiame
The Pacific’s first female head of state, Senator Hilda Heine of the Marshall Islands, has tweeted her congratulations to Fiame, calling her the duly elected PM of Samoa.

Congratulations PM Fiame Naomi Mata’afa! Stay strong and unwavering in your legitimacy as the duly elected Samoa PM! The facts of the election stand. Your win is a win for Pacific women. The political wrangling, fueled by entrenched resistance to change is sad but not surprising.

— Dr. Hilda C. Heine (@Senator_Heine) May 24, 2021

Solomon Islands’ Opposition leader Matthew Wale also tweeted his disappointment.

“PIF Leaders should be consulting re Biketawa and possible solutions. The longer this impasse drags, the higher the risk to the integrity of Samoa’s democratic institutions”.

Journalist and longtime editor of the Samoa Observer, Mata’afa Keni Lesa agrees, saying “it’s very important for the international community to not only keep an eye on what’s happening in Samoa but step in and say the right things”.

“They cannot be silent on what’s happening in Samoa, because otherwise we’ve seen the examples of what’s happening in other Pacific countries,” he told the ABC’s Pacific Beat.

“Despite what has happened, we are still peaceful and I think there’s still time…this situation can still be salvaged if the right pressure is applied from overseas, knowing how important aid and all the benefits that Samoa gains from the international community, he said.

UN calls for dialogue
The United Nations has called for dialogue in Samoa, reports Pacnews.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has been following developments since the elections, according to a statement issued by his spokesperson.

“He urges the leaders in Samoa to find solutions to the current political situation through dialogue in the best interest of the people and institutions of Samoa”, it said.

“The United Nations stands ready to provide support to Samoa if requested by the parties.”

Samoa’s deepening political crisis has taken yet another turn today after the Attorney-General’s office launched an astounding attack on the country’s judiciary.

The Supreme Court hearing over whether the swearing in of the FAST party outside Parliament was legitimate has been adjourned to next week after the Attorney-General’s office called for the withdrawal of all local judges, citing potential conflicts of interest.

In a media statement, the Attorney-General’s office said the actions of the judiciary was “concerning” after the Chief Justice had tried to open the locked doors of Parliament on Monday.

• READ MORE:  Fiame calls for Tuila’epa to end Samoa’s ‘enormous assault’
• Despite a veneer of democracy, Samoa is sliding into autocracy
  
• Samoan democracy hangs in the balance as a constitutional arm wrestle plays out
• Samoa’s stunning election result: on the verge of a new ruling party for the first time in 40 years
• Samoa incumbent leader needs to ‘get a grip’, says PM-elect Fiame
• FAST heading back to court to try and resolve political impasse in Samoa
• Other Samoan political crisis reports on Asia Pacific Report
• RNZ’s live updates
• The Pacific Newsroom’s updates
• What you need to know about the Samoa crisis
• The Samoa Observer editorial – Swearing-in strengthens nation’s foundation

Hearing adjourned in Samoa over whether FAST Party’s ad hoc swearing in was constitutional. Video: TVNZ News

This came after the Supreme Court had ruled Parliament must sit on Monday but that was ignored by the Speaker of Parliament and incumbent Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi who ordered Parliament closed.

The Attorney-General’s office alleged Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese may be in contempt of Parliament and “as the Chief Justice, the caretaker Speaker and staff are not subject to court jurisdiction as per the law”.

Another case which was to be heard by the Court of Appeal over the extra creation of a seat to meet the minimum 10 percent requirement of women in Parliament is also on hold until next week.

Again the Attorney-General’s office said local judges had a “potential conflict of interest and potential favouritism” as all four cases between the FAST party and HRPP had been ruled against HRPP.

In court today, the Chief Justice asked on what authority the Attorney-General’s office had to dictate the work of the judiciary.

He said the Supreme Court would rule next week over whether there was any merit to the recusal or withdrawal of judges.

Republished with the author’s permission.

As the focus of Samoa’s political crisis shifts to the courtrooms of our Supreme and District Courts, and with Monday, 24 May 2021, going down in the history books as a tale of alternate realities, we are left wondering if there is something missing.

Wherever you stand and whoever you support, surely there can be some common ground to be found among all Samoans, in the simple question of – where is the Head of State?

The Head of State, Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, has for all intents and purposes, gone AWOL.

The country has not heard from His Highness since the weekend, when issuing his Saturday night proclamation to suspend his Friday afternoon proclamation for Parliament to convene on Monday morning.

A promise to provide reasons for suspending the Friday proclamation was made, but four days later and the country is still waiting for answers as we uncoil ourselves from fetal positioning, after Monday’s events.

For the uninitiated: an ad-hoc Parliament was convened under a marquee outside Samoa’s hallowed Maota Fono. This was due to the fact that the doors of the Maota were locked and the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly’s refusal to adhere to a Supreme Court ruling.

The Head of State and the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and staff were not in attendance for the late afternoon sitting of Parliament. Also conspicuously absent were the 25 elected MPs from the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), including their leader and caretaker Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi.

That the HRPP was not in attendance came as no surprise, because Tuila’epa had made it clear that they would not be attending.

That they would stoop to such levels to stop the convening of the 17th Parliament is reprehensible, but frankly, unsurprising.

Tuilaepa’s reach is long, and the Head of State’s absence from Monday’s convening, shows just how long.

So the majority of Parliament’s elected members (26) – all from Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) – went ahead with their own swearing-in ceremony, swore their oaths and signed in as legislators of the 17th Parliament using collapsible tables, stackable plastic chairs and Chinese mats.

It was a woeful sight; and yet perfectly emblematic of what Samoa’s democracy has been reduced to.

OPINION: The Head of State’s previous edicts to delay Parliament denied 26 constituencies their right to see their elected members sworn-in and seated in our Maota Fono on Monday. It has added to the destructive trail on our already battered Constitution. https://t.co/mhUMY3XaBI

— Samoa Observer (@samoaobserver) May 25, 2021

The Head of State’s absence from that watershed Parliament sitting on Monday may perhaps debunk any wholesale belief that his role is merely in title alone.

We say this because only he could have changed the course of Monday’s events, had he shown up and flouted the HRPP leader’s declaration that there would be no convening of Parliament.

By following his own Friday afternoon proclamation and allowing the 17th Parliament to convene, and by conducting the swearing-in of new members of the Legislative Assembly inside the Maota Fono, His Highness could have set our current political path back to where it should be.

And that is with the installation of our next government, which would have been FAST-led.

Whatever else that was set to come, such as petitions, would see their day in court and the outcome could have been dealt with accordingly.

Considering the significant number of election petitions filed with the courts, the final lineup of government could have changed over time.

Well, that was what we believe should have happened.

Whether that fits with a caretaker government’s timeline or party politics is irrelevant. That is what is enshrined in our constitution and the process we have always followed.

Stepping back and allowing another party to take the wheel, as the courts make their way through the petitions, may not be a desirable outcome for the HRPP, but that’s not their call to make.

How is it that a political party can stop the swearing in of another political party? The answer is they can’t.

Government is involved, to be sure, as we saw with the non-attendance of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, the locking of the Assembly doors and of course – the missing Head of State.

His absence has added to the destructive trail on our already battered constitution.

The Head of State’s previous edicts to delay Parliament denied 26 constituencies their right to see their elected members sworn-in and seated in our Maota Fono on Monday.

His absence leaves us with the caretaker government at the helm, refusing to step away; led by the caretaker Prime Minister, who appears to move seamlessly between his role as caretaker PM and HRPP party leader, as he continues to fulfill the duties of both, often simultaneously.

His absence leaves us with a Prime Minister-elect, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, who was sworn-in under unprecedented circumstances.

What could have been a simple timeline moving from general elections to the swearing in of our complete Legislative Assembly has veered off in to uncharted territory.

We are now in the ugly position of having two parties claiming to be government.

Our supreme law is there to guide us in these times, and so our beacon of hope remains with the judiciary.

Any questions requiring the interpretation of law should never be left to the court of public opinion nor in the hands of politicians, because that is not their purview.

No one person should ever be judge, jury and executioner. This is pertinent when considering the current actions of the caretaker leader, who has levelled serious accusations at his political opponents and the judiciary.

The separation of these powers is what makes a democracy, and keeps everyone accountable.

When you attempt to circumvent that path by altering an electoral timeline that has been tried and true over previous elections and by undermining the integrity of the judiciary and denying elected Members of Parliament from being sworn in as others have been sworn for decades, we have to ask if there is something amiss in the house of HRPP. Or are all members of the party as complicit as their leader?

The sitting of our new Parliament, and adherence to the electoral process where petitions would ultimately decide the final makeup of seats in the Assembly should have been the path we follow.

The Samoa Observer editorial of 26 May 2021. Republished with permission.

Samoa’s incoming prime minister has called for the caretaker Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) government to relinquish power so the country can rebuild.

The country is in a constitutional crisis after the FAST party, which won a one-seat majority in the April 9 election, was blocked from entering Parliament to form a government on Monday.

The Head of State had cancelled a scheduled sitting on Saturday, but that was overruled by the Supreme Court on Sunday.

• READ MORE: Despite a veneer of democracy, Samoa is sliding into autocracy
  
• Samoan democracy hangs in the balance as a constitutional arm wrestle plays out
• Samoa’s stunning election result: on the verge of a new ruling party for the first time in 40 years
• Samoa incumbent leader needs to ‘get a grip’, says PM-elect Fiame
• FAST heading back to court to try and resolve political impasse in Samoa
• Other Samoan political crisis reports on Asia Pacific Report
• RNZ’s live updates
• The Pacific Newsroom’s updates
• The Samoa Observer editorial – Swearing-in strengthens nation’s foundation

FAST’s members arrived on Monday to find Parliament locked, with the clerk and speaker saying they were acting on orders from the caretaker Minister for Parliament, HRPP leader Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi.

Under the constitution, Parliament must sit within 45 days of an election, and Monday was the last possible day for that provision to be met.

FAST instead held its own swearing-in ceremony in a tent outside parliament, where its leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa was sworn in as Prime Minister, but the Head of State, the judiciary and parliamentary officials were all absent.

The Attorney-General – an HRPP appointee – has said the ceremony was unconstitutional, and that FAST was not the government. A Supreme Court challenge will be heard on tomorrow.

Fiame, in an address to the nation today, said FAST was forced into an action to get past “the enormous assault on the dignity of this country and its people” by the HRPP. While not mentioning him by name, she called on Tuila’epa to stand aside.

Samoa’s Tuilaepa has the faint whiffs of another lost election… https://t.co/rmHtKk7YIl pic.twitter.com/cuc3I1rSPf

— Rod Emmerson (@rodemmerson) May 25, 2021

“The rule of law … was the foundation for Monday’s swearing in ceremony as all of us were acting in accordance with the constitution, the declarations of the Supreme Court, and simply what is right,” she said.

“The lawbreaking caretaker and his weak and complicit officials have undermined the dignity of this land and all of its people,” she said.

“That shame and that stain will be upon their hands forever.”

This Monday’s events outside of Parliament have imprinted the hearts of Samoans near and far, in the country and outside it. https://t.co/bbYrcn8lSH

— Samoa Observer (@samoaobserver) May 26, 2021

Fiame called for Tuila’epa to stand down so her government could rebuild the country from the crisis.

“When the arrogant refusal to concede power, a power which is given by the people, becomes a grubby international incident, then our caretaker has dragged us all to his lowest ebb, and he and all his sycophants must go.”

Fiame said she was prepared to wait through more taxing times, and asked supporters to keep their faith as they pursued an end to the crisis.

“Help is on the way, the way of the rule of law.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

New battlelines in Samoa’s ongoing political crisis were drawn this week. After an evening swearing-in ceremony on the lawn of Parliament house, Samoa now has two governments claiming a mandate to rule.

What comes next will have vast ramifications for the Pacific nation, its region and for democracy globally.

On Monday, May 24, Fa’atuatua I Le Atua Samoa Ua Tasi (FAST) Party members, led by Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, arrived at Parliament house to be sworn into office following their one-seat election win on April 9.

• READ MORE: Despite a veneer of democracy, Samoa is sliding into autocracy
  
• Samoa’s stunning election result: on the verge of a new ruling party for the first time in 40 years
• Samoa incumbent leader needs to ‘get a grip’, says PM-elect Fiame
• FAST heading back to court to try and resolve political impasse in Samoa
• Other Samoan political crisis reports on Asia Pacific Report
• RNZ’s live updates
• The Pacific Newsroom’s updates
• The Samoa Observer editorial today – Swearing-in strengthens nation’s foundation

They found the doors locked by order of Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, who has been prime minister for the last 23 years. By late afternoon, with the building still locked, the marquee swearing-in ceremony took place outside.

This was the 45th day since the election, the last date on which the newly elected parliament could sit according to Samoa’s constitution.

A constitutional arm wrestle
The unprecedented delay was due to a series of extraordinary maneuvres aimed at keeping Tuila’epa’s Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) in power after losing its first election in 40 years.

By forcing the clock to run out on the 45-day limit for a new Parliament to convene, the HRPP would propel Samoa into uncharted constitutional waters, providing justification for another election.

The Head of State, Tuimaleali’ifano Va’aleto’a Sualauvi, had declared the April 9 election results void and that a second election be held May 21. On May 17, the Supreme Court deemed that declaration illegal, upholding FAST as the victors of the vote and ordering parliament to convene on May 24.

Then, on May 22, the Head of State abruptly announced Parliament was suspended until further notice. Fiame described this latest development as a “coup”.

In response, the Supreme Court held an urgent hearing on May 23. It again overruled the Head of State and ordered Parliament to sit on May 24.

Court and church lend legitimacy
The makeshift swearing-in ceremony gave Prime Minister-elect Fiame’s government legitimacy. The presence of the revered former Head of State, Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Ta’isi Efi, aided the optics. The current Head of State, who has shocked many with his actions, was said to have left the capital, Apia, for a distant village.

Also legitimising the Fiame government’s swearing-in was the chairman of the Congregational Christian Church, Reverend Elder Iosefa Atapana Uilelea, who led the opening prayers. Until that point, the immense moral force of church leadership had not been activated to support either side.

Tuila’epa’s response at Monday night’s press conference was in character: FAST had been overtaken by “the devil”, had “mental issues needing professional help” and were akin to “the Mafia”.

More ominous was his accusing FAST of “stealing” his authority and “treason”.

Tuila’epa’s strategy to retain power has relied on an interpretation of powers of the head of state that have no basis in law or precedent. When these moves have been blocked by the Supreme Court, he has denounced it as illegitimate and ignored its decisions.

By contrast, Fiame (who was Tuila’epa’s deputy until late 2020) and her FAST members have exhibited professionalism, restraint, and faith in Samoa’s constitution, courts and the people who put them in power.

Now, new battlelines will be drawn over which government is the legitimate one and who adjudicates that critical point. This will entail more direct confrontation between the Head of State and Supreme Court, which will extend the deadlock.

How will the crisis be resolved?
Without a military, Samoa cannot resolve its crisis like neighbouring Fiji, where the army has staged multiple coups since 1987. In Samoa, the police occupy a pivotal role, but to date have acted peacefully and in accordance with the courts.

But since May 17, another factor has come into play. Samoa has attracted regional and world attention because Fiame is the first female leader of the country, and one of few in the region.

Since May 22, the world has watched Tuila’epa’s attempts to deny her power with great interest.

Samoa is a microcosm of US President Joe Biden’s recent description of the struggles between democracy and the autocratic political regimes favoured by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Samoa moved closer to China under Tuila’epa but that may now be reversed under Fiame.

So far, New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, and Australia’s foreign minister, Marise Payne, have made cautious statements about their faith in Samoa’s democratic institutions.

In the coming days, New Zealand and Australia, the US, Japan, Britain, the European Union and the main regional body, the Pacific Islands Forum, must actively support Samoa’s democratically elected government in any way requested by Fiame.

Supportive words may soon be inadequate as Tuila’epa makes his next moves in what looks now like a naked power grab.

Dr Patricia A. O’Brien is visiting fellow at the School of History, Australian National University, and adjunct professor, Asian Studies Programme, Georgetown University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

Samoa’s Prime Minister-elect says she does not think the accusation of treason by the incumbent leader holds sway and suggested he his having a hard time letting go of power.

Samoa’s Attorney-General has filed a complaint with the Supreme Court, claiming yesterday’s ad-hoc swearing in of the FAST party MPs was unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court heard it for mention this afternoon, and set down a hearing for Thursday at noon.

• LISTEN TO RNZ MORNING REPORT: ‘I think since events yesterday we expect something to come from the courts and the judiciary” – FAST party spokesman Apulu Lance Polu
• READ MORE: FAST heading back to court to try and resolve political impasse in Samoa
• Other Samoan political crisis reports on Asia Pacific Report
• RNZ’s live updates
• The Pacific Newsroom’s updates
• The Samoa Observer editorial today – Swearing-in strengthens nation’s foundation

The Attorney-General named the FAST party leader, Prime Minister-elect Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, all of the party’s MPs and their lawyers as respondents.

In a statement last night threatening action, the Attorney-General’s Office said those who had conducted the ad-hoc swearing in ceremony held yesterday afternoon had no legal authority.

But today, FAST was maintaining that it is now the government – it has a majority, and was forced to act by the Head of State and parliamentary officials’ defying orders by the Supreme Court.

Incumbent Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sailele Malielegaoi was not backing down either, today again calling the FAST party’s actions a coup.

FAST barred from Parliament
FAST had been barred from entering the Parliament building after Tuila’epa, who has been Prime Minister for 23 years and leader of the defeated Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which had been in power for about four decades, directed the Speaker to lock the doors.

Under the constitution, Parliament must sit within 45 days of an election and yesterday was the last day for this to be possible.

Fiame spoke to RNZ Pacific’s Don Wiseman this evening and said she did not think the accusation of treason, made by Tuila’epa yesterday, was a serious one.

“You might have recalled at the last Parliament he was throwing those threats at the four of us. We were the sole opposition in the House,” she said.

“Treason, it’s very well defined. It has a lot to do with killing people or plotting to kill people, having full frontal physical attacks. It’s nothing like that.

“So I think he just likes to stoke the fire and throw in big words like treason. I don’t think that [his accusation] is very serious.

Tuila’epa today suggested the judiciary had a bias towards Fiame, partly due to a family relation. Fiame said he “needs to get a grip.”

“It’s not a matter of bias. It’s a matter of the merit of the issues and the cases brought before the court.”

Bad legal advice
She suggested Tuila’epa was either getting bad legal advice or having lawyers tell him what he wanted to hear.

“Unfortunately, the lawyers are people in their official capacities, they’re not private lawyers for the HRPP.

“They’re sort of running the show for him. In fact if there’s anything more concerning for me, it’s that these public officials are not able to play their role and functions in an independent and impartial way. They’re just toeing the line.”

Fiame said Tuila’epa was getting to the end of a long career and suggested he was having trouble letting go.

“The thing that really happened, first and foremost, is that he was getting to that point in that long and distinguished career where he thought he was, you know, omnipotent and could now do whatever he liked. Now, he’s gone from being ‘chosen by God‘ to setting himself up as very god-like.

“The second thing, I think, was that before the election he was making predictions of having another landslide victory. So when the results came out I think that was quite a dire shock for him.”

On where the situation with the Parliament is at now, Fiame pointed out that HRPP MPs also faced a conundrum.

Issue of 25 HRPP MPs
“So I would imagine that if things return to normality, whether there is a formal recognition of that process, and just transferred into the records of parliament, or whether we have another… because of course the other issue is what happens to the other 25 HRPP MPs? Are they in fact invalid or now voided by the fact that they weren’t sworn in by the deadline. So that’s another issue that’s in abeyance.”

Fiame and two other members of the majority party appeared in court in Apia this morning where they pled not guilty to a private prosecution brought by Tuila’epa.

The legality of yesterday’s ceremony is still in question but a legal expert today told RNZ that FAST did not carry out a “coup”.

“Rather, they acted in a way which was necessary to prevent one,” Fuimaono Dylan Asafo wrote.

“By refusing to attend the first meeting of the new Parliament, it was the Head of State who first and foremost breached the relevant constitutional procedures and any relevant standing orders.”

Prayers for peace
The Pacific Conference of Churches this morning called on its member churches around the region to pray for peace and justice to prevail in Samoa, with general secretary Reverend James Bhagwan saying the situation was quite concerning.

“Particularly the to and fro between the political parties,” he said.

“I am not a political commentator in any way but we can see there is a need for this to be resolved and we hope that that can be done in a manner that finds resonance with the people of Samoa.”

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs today issued a statement calling on all parties to uphold the rule of law and respect the democratic process.

“We are willing to offer support to Samoa should that be useful during this complex period,” it said.

However, MFAT declined to answer a direct question about whether it recognised yesterday’s swearing-in ceremony as legal and official.

NZ faith in Samoan democracy
It would only say New Zealand “respects Samoa’s sovereignty and the mana of its democratic institutions, including the courts which have an important democratic and constitutional role” and that it recognised the “combined wisdom and experience of traditional and church leaders who will want to see a peaceful outcome”.

New Zealand “looked forward to working with a democratically elected” government, said the statement.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she had not spoken to the leader of either party since the election.

“We’ve joined with many others in just restating our faith in Samoa’s democracy,” Ardern said.

“It falls upon those within Samoa to demonstrate their faith in their own democracy too.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was looking forward to working with a democratically elected government of Samoa.

Pacific Islands Forum ready to help, says Puna
The Pacific Islands Forum is urging all parties in Samoa to find a peaceful resolution to the current deadlock.

Its incoming Secretary-General Henry Puna said forum members were closely following events in Samoa, and the group was willing to offer support and step in to help if asked.

Puna, who is the former Cook Islands prime minister, also called for a moment of reflection and solidarity across the Forum for the people of Samoa, where post-election events were making global headlines.

“I ask each of us across our member nations to keep the people of Samoa in our thoughts and prayers at this time, knowing that Samoa’s sovereign process and the world-renowned Fa’a Samoa will prevail at this critical moment in their history.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Samoa’s Attorney-General’s office is calling yesterday’s swearing-in ceremony of Samoa’s FAST Party unconstitutional and unlawful, and is preparing to file criminal and civil charges.

This comes after the party — locked out of Samoa’s Parliament yesterday when it was meant to be sworn in — held an ad-hoc ceremony outside the building under a marquee.

The ceremony saw FAST leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa swear her oath as the incoming Prime Minister as the party held a one-seat majority to form a government. Fiame also named her cabinet.

• LISTEN TO RNZ MORNING REPORT: ‘I think since events yesterday we expect something to come from the courts and the judiciary” – FAST party spokesman Apulu Lance Polu
• READ MORE: FAST heading back to court to try and resolve political impasse in Samoa
• Other Samoan political crisis reports on Asia Pacific Report
• RNZ’s live updates
• The Pacific Newsroom’s updates
• The Samoa Observer editorial today – Swearing-in strengthens nation’s foundation

FAST MPs were sworn in by the former Attorney-General and their own lawyer. It is not yet clear whether the ceremony would be officially recognised.

Savalenoa Mareva Betham-Annandale, Samoa’s Attorney-General, cited a lack of “a number of key components” as the reason why her office did not recognise the ceremony.

“There are a number of key components for a swearing-in to be recognised in our constitution, one of which is that Parliament must sit, Parliament must be convened by the head of state and all of the members must be inside the chambers of parliament, not outside,” Savalenoa said.

Subject to civil, criminal proceedings
The Attorney-General’s office said all those involved would be subject to civil proceedings and criminal prosecutions, although this might take time.

“They will be made subject to the law. It is unacceptable to be seen to be taking, if you like, as a bloodless coup and the takeover of parliament without the proper procedures and constitutional requirements being met,” Savalenoa said.

The Attorney-General wanted the court to declare yesterday’s swearing-in illegal. The Chief Justice will hear that case on Thursday and decide whether Samoa has a new government or not.

Meanwhile, both FAST and HRPP continue to claim they are the legitimate government.

Caretaker Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and his MPs of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) refused to be sworn in yesterday.

Tuilaepa called FAST’s ad-hoc ceremony “treason” and said it was “law-breaking in its highest degree”.

Constitutional expert Dr Bill Hodge, a just-retired professor of law from the University of Auckland, agreed the swearing was not properly done under the constitution. However, he said it did not amount to treason.

Legitimate vote of the people
“If your intent is to uphold the constitution you cannot be a traitor. Ultimately what the constitution must be about is the fulfillment of the legitimate vote of the people,” he said.

Under Samoa’s constitution, Parliament had to meet within 45 days — yesterday — of the election.

But, late on the night of May 22, the head of state cancelled the scheduled sitting of Parliament. He did not give a reason for the decision, and said he would make his reasons known “in due course”. The Supreme Court ruled against the declaration.

After the Supreme Court ruling, Speaker Leaupepe Toleafoa Fa’afisi, a member of incumbent HRPP, announced the house would not convene until the Head of State proclaimed it was allowed. He ordered a lockout of Parliament, which prevented FAST from entering parliament yesterday.

With those circumstances in mind, FAST were just doing their best to abide by the rules, Dr Hodge said.

Republished with permission.

Samoa’s FAST Party is expecting to face another day locked out of Parliament today and is also predicting a long year ahead to resolve the country’s constitutional crisis.

Accusations of coups and treason are flying as the standoff between the majority FAST party and the defeated caretaker government shows no sign of ending.

The Supreme Court had ordered Parliament to sit, overruling the Head of State’s decision to cancel Monday’s sitting.

• LISTEN TO RNZ MORNING REPORT: ‘I think since events yesterday we expect something to come from the courts and the judiciary” – FAST party spokesman Apulu Lance Polu
• READ MORE: Other Samoan political crisis reports
• RNZ’s live updates
• The Pacific Newsroom’s updates
• The Samoa Observer editorial today – Swearing-in strengthens nation’s foundation

However, FAST was barred from entering the Parliament building after Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, who has been Prime Minister for 23 years and is leader of HRPP, directed the Speaker to lock the doors.

The FAST party of Fiame Naomi Mata’afa held its swearing in ceremony in a tent on the parliament’s grounds.

A spokesperson for the FAST party, Apulu Lance Polu, told RNZ Morning Report it was a day of drama yesterday but he did not expect Parliament would be open today for carrying on its normal business.

“But court cases are starting today so I can see that from yesterday it’s going to be a long day in terms of business for a new government and I think it’s going to be a long year in so far as trying to resolve the constitutional and political stalemate that is happening in Samoa at the moment.”

Significant events
Asked about the reasons for taking more court action, when the courts had already ruled in FAST’s favour, he said significant events occurred yesterday.

“I think since events yesterday we expect something to come from the courts and the judiciary.”

He said the threats from the caretaker prime minister, Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, after the swearing-in meant he could be planning something, Apulu said.

Apulu repeated his accusation that the caretaker government is staging a bloodless coup.

“It’s the rule of law that has been stomped on by the caretaker government and they are claiming that it’s a constitutional crisis.

“There are cases before the court and they want those to be resolved first before any new government can be instituted.”

FAST was upholding the law yesterday because parliament needs to meet within 45 days of the election.

After 45 days the head of state will need to announce new elections which is what the caretaker government is wanting, Apulu said.

FAST needs to work out how it will get a smooth transition and be able to work with the government departments.

He can foresee some issues and the party will be looking to the courts for more legal direction on how this would be implemented.

Fiji Women’s Forum has congratulated F.A.S.T. party leader, Fiame Naomi Mataafa saying her elevation to head Samoa’s new government opens door for aspiring women politicians in the Pacific. https://t.co/ONeUO6SE2M

— Samoa Observer (@samoaobserver) May 24, 2021

Social media divisive, says Collins

The standoff in Samoa is also causing division in the diaspora, including in Auckland.

Some are taking to social media to air their views, and in the churches, there are prayers for calm and unity.

Manukau councillor Fa’anana Efeso Collins said that within Auckland’s Samoan community there was huge concern and uncertainty about what will transpire.

He told Morning Report he was confident the situation would not turn violent, in part because the high chiefs were maintaining their control within the villages.

“The challenge we have before us for our home nation is how there will be a transition to new government,” he said.

“What we saw yesterday with FAST having a swearing in outside on the grounds of parliament is quite mind-blowing really because we’ve never seen anything like it before.”

He said there was some way to go but he was confident there would be a peaceful transition at some stage.

There were prayers on Sunday and a lot of churches are calling for peace.

“I think there’s real sadness, I think there’s growing anger as well, there’s frustration depending on where you sit on the political fence.”

Comments on social media were showing the level of frustration and are detrimental, he said.

There are deeply entrenched levels of support within families and villages for each party.

“So we’ve got to be careful, sensitive around our comments which is why there’s an ongoing call for peace and calm especially from those who are outside of Samoa looking in and feeling disappointed at what’s happening at the moment,” he said.

“It’s important that we stay connected to our families that are there.”

Court battle predicted in Samoa
Correspondent Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia told Morning Report there may be another court battle.

He said Fiame Naomi Mata’afa said last night that her FAST party intended to start its newly formed government.

“But the caretaker prime minister, in his announcement last night after the swearing in ceremony, has called on the country to stay calm,” Autagavaia said.

“He met all the chief executive officers of the public service and then reminded them that … the caretaker government is still in power and to look after the country until such time as parliament will be called to be sworn in.

“I understand the Attorney-General last night issued a statement saying that the swearing in that happened yesterday is unconstitutional and unlawful.

“So the crisis is getting deeper and I’m sure it will go back to court.”

Leader of the Human Rights Protection Party Tuileapa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi said he would challenge Monday’s swearing-in ceremony held by F.A.S.T. https://t.co/y4otJ0YRrr

— Samoa Observer (@samoaobserver) May 24, 2021

Despite the division and support for rival parties, people were calmly awaiting the outcome of court rulings, he said.

“When we left the Parliament House about 7 in the evening we saw the ruling HRPP headquarters with many cars there, and members of the caucus of the HRPP camping in their headquarters, but there was no tension – people are still staying calm.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The next step in the Samoan crisis is to see where the police land and to get a sense of who is going to line up on which side and who will get “the social licence” to be the legitimate government, says a leading New Zealand academic.

Associate professor of Pacific studies at the University of Auckland Toeolesulusulu Damon Salesa told RNZ Morning Report today that the police seemed to be waiting for clearer signals, however, so far they had acted appropriately because there was calm in Samoa and they did not want to take any action that would threaten that.

“It’s right for people to stay on the sidelines until there’s clarity delivered either politically or legally that can be taken forward into the transition of government.”

• LISTEN TO RNZ MORNING REPORT: Associate Professor Damon Salesa on the Samoan political crisis
• READ MORE: Other Samoan political crisis reports
• The Samoa Observer editorial today – Swearing-in strengthens nation’s foundation

It was unlikely that Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi would concede but this was the real problem and it was needed for a peaceful transition.

Those working in the public service had been appointed by either his party or him.

“Samoa’s had no practice at transitioning power. This is not a position that any of these public service heads have been in …we’re asking a lot of these public service heads but they need to deliver,” he said.

The courts had been “heroic” in the last fortnight and had shown a real commitment to upholding the law by coming out of the courtroom and walking up to Parliament yesterday, Toeolesulusulu said.

Asked if other Pacific nations had a role to play, he said it was not the Pacific way to interfere in the domestic concerns of other nations but Tuila’epa had made some enemies in the region.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.