Fiame Naomi Mataafa: Samoa will appoint its first female prime minister | Election News

The Supreme Court of Samoa rejected the head of state’s attempt to invalidate the results of the April general election, paving the way for the opposition to form a government.

Fiame Naomi Mataafa is expected to become Samoa’s first female prime minister after the Supreme Court of the Pacific helped break the month-long political deadlock.

The Supreme Court of Samoa announced on Monday afternoon that Samoa had vetoed the attempt of the head of state Tumarle Alifano Valetoa Sulawi II to invalidate the election results.

The Supreme Court also separately rejected the additional parliamentary seats created by the Election Commission after the election, which briefly gave the current government a majority of seats.

The court’s ruling cleared the way for Mataafa’s FAST party to form a government, thus ending the rule of Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi (Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi), who has insisted on it after more than 20 years in power In power, he became one of Mangafoni’s longest serving leaders. world.

It is unclear whether Malielegaoi has a legislative or legal way to challenge Mata Law, which currently has a small majority in the 51-member parliament.

FAST said in a statement on social media: “In the unanimous ruling reached by a judicial panel of the Supreme Court on Monday by the FAST party, the majority party formed the government. Its opponents have 26 seats, while the Human Rights Protection Party has only 25 seats.”

The government of Maleli Gawai did not immediately respond to questions on Monday.

Video clips show that in the capital, Ataia, Matafaa supporters dressed in red, celebrating the legal ruling by singing outside the courthouse.

Matafaf is a former deputy prime minister who split from the government last year after opposing changes to the Samoa constitution and judicial system.

In recent years, Malielegaoi has also dealt with The measles crisis in 2019 Of these, 83 people were killed, mainly young people, as well as the close relationship between the government and China.

The ruling HRPP has been in power since 1982. With the exception of the brief alliance period of 1986-87, Malielegaoi has held the top position for 22 years.

Samoa, with a population of 220,000, gained independence in 1962 after becoming a protectorate of New Zealand for nearly 50 years.

Pacific countries closed their borders at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and prevented the widespread spread of COVID-19 infection in the community.