Samoan general election, 2016

Samoan general election, 2016

4 March 2016

All 49 seats to the Fono (ended up as 50 due to a 10% female quota)   Majority party Minority party   Leader Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi Palusalue Fa’apo II Party HRPP TSP Last election 29 13 Seats won 35 2 Seat change 6 11 Popular vote 45,816 6,432 Percentage 57.3% 8.0%

General elections were held in Samoa on 4 March 2016. The main contesting parties were that of incumbent Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP); and the Tautua Samoa Party (TSP). The HRPP secured a landslide victory, winning 35 of the 49 elected seats in the Legislative Assembly, while 12 independents subsequently joined them, strengthening Samoa's one-party rule and preventing the TSP from obtaining the eight seats required for recognition as a parliamentary party.

Electoral system

The 49 members of the Fono were elected from constituencies, of which 35 were single-member constituencies and 7 were two-seat constituencies. All seats were elected using first-past-the-post voting; in the two-seat constituencies, voters cast two votes. Universal suffrage was introduced in 1990, permitting Samoan citizens over the age of 21 to vote in person. Candidates were required to be at least 21 years of age, heads of their families and resident of the country for at least three years prior the nomination date. Civil servants and people with mental illness were ineligible to stand as candidates. People convicted for bribery or an electoral offense, and people given a prison sentence of more than two years (including the death sentence), were also ineligible.^[1] Around 116,000 electors were registered for the election.^[2]

The Constitution Amendment Act 2013 ensures a minimum of 10 per cent of seats in parliament were reserved for women.^[3]

Campaign

A total of 164 candidates (24 women) contested the elections: 83 from HRPP, 23 from TSP and 60 independents. Four candidates including the prime minister and caretaker Minister of Justice, Fiame Naomi Mataafa, were elected unopposed. Capital Radio Samoa predicted that the ruling party would win the elections.

Conduct

Voting commenced at 8am (UTC+14:00) and closed at 15:00 on 4 March. A liquor ban was imposed with effect from the voting day and till 06:00 the next morning. No violence was reported during the voting.^[4]

Results

The provisional results showed the ruling Human Rights Protection Party leading with 47 seats out of a maximum of 49.^[5][6] In the previous elections held in 2011, it won 36 seats and the Tautua Samoa Party emerged as the second largest party with 13 seats. The only non-HRPP winners in these elections were TSP deputy leader Aeau Peniamina and Ili Setefano Ta'ateo.^[7] A number of government ministers lost their seats to newcoming MPs, as did opposition leader Palusalue Fa’apo II.^[8][9] Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi thanked the citizens for "the overwhelming vote of confidence in our vision for [Samoa]". Four women MPs were elected and a fifth, the female candidate with the highest percentage of votes yet to be elected, was added to meet the quota requirements of 10% female MPs. Independent Rosa Duffy-Stowers, who got the third highest vote share in the Gagaifomauga constituency,^[10] was selected increasing the parliament's strength to 50 members.^[7]

Olo Fiti Vaai, independent MP for Salega East, pledged to join the TSP at the restart of parliament.^[11]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Human Rights Protection Party	45,816	57.30	35	+6
	Tautua Samoa Party	6,432	8.04	2	–11
	Independents	27,704	34.65	13	+6
Invalid/blank votes			–	–	–
Total		79,952	100	50	+1
Registered voters/turnout				–	–
Source: OEC

References

1. "Samoa (Fono) Electoral system". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
2. Timutimu, Ripeka (4 March 2016). "Easy victory predicted for Tuilaepa". Māori Television. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
3. "Constitution Amendment Act 2013" (PDF). International Labour Organization. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
4. "Voting underway in Samoa's general election". Radio New Zealand. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
5. "Samoa's ruling party set for landslide win: initial results". Bangkok Post. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
6. "Samoa now ‘one party state’, Tuilaepa crushes Tautua opposition". Asia Pacific Report. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
7. "Samoan ruling party set for landslide victory in general elections". ABC Online. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
8. Polu, Lance (5 March 2016). "Samoan voters return HRPP in landslide victory – annihilates a parliamentary Opposition". Talamua On-line News. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
9. Lesa, Mata'afa Keni (5 March 2016). "Congratulations to all the winners". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
10. . 11 March 2016 http://www.talamua.com/faaulusau-rosa-duffy-stowers-secures-5th-parliamentary-seat-for-women/. Retrieved 16 March 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
11. Tupufia, Lanuola Tusani (6 March 2016). "Count me in, Olo stands up for Tautua". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 5 March 2016.