| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Fono / Legislative Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
4 March 2011 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the Legislative Assembly on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
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On 5 October 2010, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi announced that parliamentary elections would be held on 4 March 2011. His Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) has ruled the country since 1979 and he has been Prime Minister since 1998, after many years as the deputy to the late Tofilau Eti Alesana.
In the previous elections held in March 2006, the HRPP won 33 of the 49 seats at stake. The main opposition party, the Samoan Democratic United Party (SDUP), took 13 seats, while the remainder went to independents.
In September 2007, Prime Minister Tuilaepa submitted a Road Transport Reform Bill that included a switch to driving on the left-hand side of the road. He argued that this would allow citizens to import cheap second-hand cars from the 17,000 Samoans living in Australia and New Zealand. Opponents argued that the switch would turn many of Samoa's roads - which wind through mountainous jungle terrain with sharp turns - into disaster zones, and collected a petition with over 30,000 signatures. Reacting to a parliamentary committee report on the petition, several HRPP members opposed the Bill. In March 2008, two HRPP members opposing the Bill left the party and became independents. The following month, the Legislative Assembly adopted the Bill.
In December 2008, nine members of the Legislative Assembly - including the two members who had left the HRPP - launched the Tautua Samoa Party (TSP) under the de facto leadership of Mr. Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi. The TSP declared that its members would remain "independents" until the end of the legislature.
In January 2009, Speaker Tolofuiaivalelei Falemoe Leiataua ordered the TSP to notify him of its members in the Legislative Assembly within 21 days. The Speaker argued that forming a political party during the parliamentary term was a breach of the Standing Orders and the Electoral Act. In May, the Speaker disqualified all nine TSP members and called by-elections to fill their seats. The TSP leader subsequently filed an injunction to obtain a stay of execution of the Speaker's ruling. In July, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling and ordered the nine MPs to be reinstated and the by-elections to be cancelled.
In September 2009, the country of 192,000 inhabitants was hit by a powerful tsunami, which resulted in 183 deaths. Prime Minister Tuilaepa came under criticism over the mismanagement of the tsunami relief funds. The same month, the country switched to driving on the left-hand side of the road.
On 27 January 2011, the Legislative Assembly was dissolved in view of general elections. At the time of the dissolution, Prime Minister Tuilaepa's HRPP held 30 seats and his government had the support of five independent members. The TSP had grown to 11 seats in all.
In February, two TSP candidates in Prime Minister Tuilaepa's Lepa constituency were disqualified from the 2011 elections owing to a legal provision that requires village leaders to approve candidates on the basis of their service to the community. Under the Electoral Act, candidates must have discharged the normal matai duties (see note) to their village. The candidates filed a case arguing that the provision of the Electoral Act was unclear, but the court dismissed the petition. Prime Minister Tuilaepa went into the 2011 elections unopposed in his Lepa constituency.
In all, 159 candidates, including nine women, were vying for seats in the Legislative Assembly: 79 from the HRPP, 40 from the TSP and 40 independent candidates.
Prime Minister Tuilaepa's HRPP ran on the government's record of job creation, political and economic stability and an annual quota of 1,100 Samoans given permanent New Zealand residency. The Prime Minister referred to the past five years as "the most reformed-involved era in Samoa's history".
The TSP, now led by Mr. Vaai Papu Vailupe, accused the HRPP government of mishandling the tsunami disaster, arguing that the government had not done enough to help victims. The TSP pledged to focus on "the needs of the people" instead of big infrastructural developments. It insisted that the government's policies, such as switching to driving on the left-hand side of the road and its focus on infrastructure, had led to the rising cost of living.
In all, 90 per cent of the 76,000 registered voters turned out at the polls.
The HRPP took 29 seats, while three cabinet members lost their seats. Seven independent members subsequently joined the HRPP, giving it 36 seats in all. The TSP took 13 seats in all. Its leader, Vailupe, held his seat by a margin of only 25 votes. Two women were elected, down from three in 2006.
On 18 March, the newly elected members were sworn in and elected Mr. Laauli Leuatea Polataivao Fosi (HRPP) as its Speaker. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 4 March 2011 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
100'810
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Notes
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| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
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| Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) |
36
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| Tautua Samoa Party (TSP) |
13
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| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
47
2
4.08%
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| Distribution of seats according to age |
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| Distribution of seats according to profession |
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| Comments |
Two women were elected in the 2011 elections.
Another woman candidate was elected in the by-election held in August 2014, bringing the total number of women to three.
Sources:
Legislative Assembly (31.03.2011)
http://www.oec.gov.ws/
http://www.samoaelection.ws
http://www.samoaelection.ws/district.cfm |
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