Latest news with #earlyelection
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Samoa electoral commissioner seeks court extension
Photo: RNZI Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia Samoa's Electoral Commissioner says his office has filed an affidavit to the Supreme Court, seeking legal direction and an extra six weeks to complete the electoral roll ahead of an early election. The move follows the announcement of the formal dissolution of Parliament , which comes into force Tuesday, 3 June. The Constitution requires a general election to be held within 90 days. The regular general election had been scheduled for April 2026. Toleafoa Tuiafelolo John Stanley said the Electoral Act does not address what happens in the event of an early election. "That's why we're going to the Supreme Court for a legal direction for the Office of the Commission," he said. "Where we are currently, 53 percent of eligible voters have registered so far... so we haven't closed our rolls. "We are seeking declaration from the court, an order from the court, to give us guidance, because we are going to change all our election timetable. "We're also submitting, as well our new timeline... four months and two weeks." He confirmed that an affidavit was being filed to the Supreme Court "to seek their direction for the Office of the Electoral Commission with a new electoral timeframe" and to request six additional weeks "to complete the electoral roll to make sure our roll is ready in order to conduct an open and fair election". Since the announcement of the early election, voter registration centres across Samoa have seen an increase in foot traffic. "[Thursday] was almost 500 registered voters, and that was in Upolu," Toleafoa said. "It's the same thing with Savai'i. I mean, we've been singing this song since last year, when the registration was open in April last year, up until now, and people are now flooding in, as they know there's an early election." Toleafoa said that overseas diaspora will only be able to vote by returning to Samoa in person. The online portal is open for resgistration but voters will have to travel to Samoa for fingerprinting biometrics. He said the act needs a revamp. "Align it with the Constitution, and also make sure to cover this kind of situation... the current electoral law contradicts against the three months of the Constitution."
ABC News
28-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Samoa to hold snap elections amidst fallout between Fiame and FAST party
Samoans are heading for an early election, after Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa called for the dissolution of parliament. The call came after the her government's budget was voted down by a combination of opposition and FAST party MPs. It's another twist in a long running saga that has seen Fiame survive two votes of no confidence earlier in the year. Many however are not surprised that the budget failed to pass through. "Given the way the parliament has operated over the past year, this is not surprising at all," said Samoan human rights scholar and journalist Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson. "We've never been in a stage before where we have three parties to this degree where it does impact the decisions of parliament."
ABC News
27-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Samoa heads to snap election, after national budget fails to pass
The people of Samoa are heading for an early election, after Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa called for the dissolution of parliament. For many observers, the failure of the budget to pass in parliament is no surprise. Technology facilitated violence or cyber crime is one of the new threats facing girls and women across the Pacific region. A government minister in Kiribati is worried the amount of kava being imported and consumed is threatening the country's development and peoples' way of life. A youth association in Solomon Islands Malaita province have recently celebrated their sweat and tears after they earned a total of SBD $76,000 from the sale of their cocoa in the Provincial Capital Auki, last week.
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Samoa's leader seeks an early election after opponents reject her budget
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — 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."
