Latest news with #SamoaPolitics
ABC News
30-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
'We expect to get the majority', says Tuila'epa
Samoa's former long time prime minister Tuila'epa Sailele Malielegaoi believes his party has a good chance of regaining power after the implosion of the ruling FAST Party. Tuila'epa reign of more than two decades came to an end in 2021 when a court ruled Fiame Naomi Mata'afa was the rightful prime minister after a months-long constitutional crisis. However, infighting and dispute within Fiame's government will now culminate in the dissolution of parliament and early elections. It came about this week when FAST MPs refused to pass the budget put forward by Fiame. Parliament will be dissolved next week and fresh elections are due to be held sometime in the next three months. "We expect to get the majority," said former Prime Minister and leader of the opposition HRPP. Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi told ABC Pacific. "All we have are problems after problems confronting the country," he added.
The Independent
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Samoa's leader seeks an early election after opponents reject her budget
Samoa 's Prime Minister said she would seek to dissolve Parliament, prompting an early election, after a vote on her government's budget for the next year failed Tuesday. Fiamē Naomi Mata'afa's admission of defeat followed months of political havoc in the South Pacific island nation, during which the leader survived two votes of no confidence and struggled on with a minority government. Her budget was rejected during a swift vote in the capital Apia, with 34 lawmakers against it, 16 in favor and two abstaining. An election must be held within 90 days. Samoa, a country of about 200,000 people, was due to go to the polls next April. Samoa's first woman leader Fiamē has led Samoa since 2021, when she ousted her predecessor of 22 years. She is the country's first woman prime minister and in 1991 was the first woman appointed to Samoa's Cabinet. The daughter of a former prime minister, Fiamē is one of the region's longest-serving politicians. She came to power after splitting with the previous leader's party over constitutional changes that she said would undermine the rule of law. Fiamē holds a chiefly rank as a village leader, rare for women in Samoa. She remains an outlier, too, in Pacific island politics, where only 8% of parliamentarians are women, according to January figures from the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Politics roiled for months Tuesday's budget defeat capped months of political turmoil after Fiamē in January sacked a Cabinet member who faced a raft of criminal charges and is also her party's chairman. He in turn expelled Fiamē from the FAST party and forced her into a minority government. She beat two no-confidence motions since. Debate over the efforts to unseat her provoked outrage among some in Samoa when Fiamē's opponents derided her for being unmarried and suggested she needed a husband's advice. Earlier this month Fiamē told reporters she would contest the election next April. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Warnings about election readiness In Parliament Tuesday morning, the leader warned lawmakers that rejecting the budget would provoke operational problems for the government, according to Pacific news outlet PMN. Fiamē also cautioned that a re-registration process for Samoa's voters, which was expected to conclude before next April's vote, had only captured 52% of Samoans in the new system so far. The old registration system was obsolete, her government said last year. Fiamē has drawn attention outside Samoa for urging larger powers, such as Australia, to do more to curb the effects of climate change, which have been ruinous for low-lying Pacific island nations. She also took a more cautious approach than her predecessor to Beijing's bankrolling of infrastructure projects in Samoa, which is heavily in debt to China. Samoa has this year faced severe electricity shortages that Fiamē warned in April could seriously hamper the country's economy.
RNZ News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Samoa to go to early election after Fiame concedes
Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa Photo: Screengrab / Facebook / Government of Samoa Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa has announced she will seek a dissolution of parliament and an early election. Fiame, who has led a minority government since being ousted from her former FAST party in January, finally conceded defeat on the floor of parliament on Tuesday morning after her government's 2025 Budget was voted down. MPs from both the opposition Human Rights Protection Party and Fiame's former FAST party joined forces to defeat the budget with the final vote coming in 34 against, 16 in support and 2 abstentions. The decision comes amid a period of political turmoil that kicked off shortly after New Year's. A split in the FAST Party in January saw Fiame remove FAST Party chairman La'auli Leuatea Schmidt and several FAST ministers from her Cabinet. In turn, he ejected her from FAST, leaving her isolated and leading a minority government. Earlier this year, over a two-week period, Fiame and her minority government defeated two back-to-back leadership challenges. On 25 February, with La'auli's help, she defeated a no-confidence vote moved by Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, 34 votes to 15. Then on 6 March, this time with Tuilaepa's help, she defeated a challenge mounted by La'auli, 32 votes to 19. While in Aotearoa last week, Fiame said the Pacific was facing a tough time with geopolitics . She told Pacific Waves that her focus was to complete her term. "We had two motions of no confidence. I have always said that parliament would determine whether we remain in government as a minority government, and it would appear that that is still the status quo." She said at the time that the budget this next week was going to be another usual parliamentary issue that determines confidence. "My reading is no one really wants to go to an early election," she said. "There are a few technical issues that would make it difficult. The main one being that we are doing a complete re-registration of the voters, and I think we are not yet at 60 percent."
ABC News
19-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Samoa's PM under pressure to call election
After surviving two recent attempts to remove her from office, Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa is facing mounting pressure to call an early election. In an unusual twist, those calls are coming from two men who rarely agree on anything. Opposition Leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, and La'auli Leuatea Schmidt; the chairman of Ms Fiame's FAST party and former Cabinet minister. The next election is due around April next year but calls for an early poll follow months of political turmoil beginning in January when the Ms Fiame sacked Mr La'auli. He retaliated by removing her from the FAST party but failed to remove her via a vote of no confidence. "The longer the current Fiame government continues to be in power, they have the luxury of time to build alliances," said political expert, Sala Dr George Carter.
RNZ News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Samoa's political leaders go round and round: 'You never know'
Left to right: FAST Party chairman La'auli Leuatea Schmidt, Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, opposition leader Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi. Photo: RNZ Pacific/123RF/Samoa Government/FAST Party The leader of Samoa's main opposition party claims that Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa is holding on to the top job because of the "big salaries", while the country is "suffering". Human Rights Protection Party leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi told RNZ Pacific that Fiame no longer has control of her own party and cannot continue leading a minority government. "I have spoken to the Prime Minister that she cannot continue with only 15 of them in Cabinet. The rest of [her] party have opposed her. Therefore, she is in the minority," he said. "I think all she wants, is to stay on and receive their big salaries and hope for the best to continue to next year with problems continuing, with the country suffering." However, Fiame hit back, saying that, "I am not quote sure what the country is suffering with." She told RNZ Pacific that "things are working", adding, "It is just difficult for [Tuilaepa] because he is frustrated that he is unable to do anything." "I want to keep on doing the work that we are doing," she said in response to Tuilaepa's claims that she was only holding on to the role because of the perks that come with it. She said she has faced two motions of no confidence, and her opponents had the opportunity to "take me out". "And you know, that is the crux of his being able to [oust me]." However, Tuilaepa believes that Fiame could still choose to resign of her own accord. He said he is pleased that FAST Party chairman and former Cabinet Minister La'auli Leataua Schmidt has had a change of heart and is now calling for an early election. La'auli, whose party split in January leaving Fiame in charge of a minority government, is pursuing an early election through the courts Tuilaepa said he welcomed La'auli's legal action and is all for it. "I am happy that La'auli has come out strongly that elections should be brought forward because that was not his view previously," he said. But last week, La'auli brushed off the opposition leader's support, calling Tuilaepa "too unreliable". "Regardless of whether or not Tuilaepa agrees, we have the numbers," La'auli said. Fiame told RNZ Pacific last week that the discussion was not surprising and that parliament must meet before any such move can be considered. "The only way [an early general election] will happen is if the opposition party agrees to it. At the moment, it would seem unlikely. But you never know," she said. She also dismissed claims of instability: "What crisis? The country is running as normal." Earlier this year, over a two-week period, Fiame and her minority government defeated two back-to-back leadership challenges. On 25 February, with La'auli's help, she defeated a no-confidence vote moved by Tuilaepa, 34 votes to 15. Then on 6 March, this time with Tuilaepa's help, she defeated a challenge mounted by La'auli, 32 votes to 19. Tuilaepa said that although his motion failed it also served another purpose. "When we proposed the vote of no confidence, we expected La'auli to support us because we did not have the numbers, and they have been fighting each other," Tuilaepa said. "We knew we could not win but we were testing the sincerity of the breakup. But La'auli opposed us. "That was the opportunity for the country to go into a snap election," he added. The Samoa parliament is scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday, 27 May.
