Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa during a press conference in Apia on 14 January 2025. Photo: Screengrab/Radio Samoa
In its latest attempt to oust Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, Samoa's FAST Party is taking legal action to try and secure an early general election.
However, Fiame poured cold water on the idea, saying she doubted parliament would agree to it.
FAST chairman La'auli Leuatea Schmidt, who was terminated as Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries in January, says the party is seeking a Supreme Court ruling on whether it is legal for Fiame to rule with a minority government.
"Where else in the world do you see this? It's unconstitutional," he told RNZ Pacific.
"Parliament should be dissolved as soon as possible and next year's election brought forward, in a bid to peacefully resolve the ongoing political crisis," he said.
Fiame's response was swift.
"What crisis? You know the country is running and the thing is, [La'auli] may well call for it, but it wont happen until parliament meets."
She said the latest twist came as no surprise to her.
"The only way it [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.
La'auli rejected that idea, saying the leader of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi was "too unreliable."
"I don't care whether he agrees or not, we have the numbers," he said.
Left to right: FAST Party chairman La'auli Leuatea Schmidt, Prime Minister Fiame, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, opposition leader Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi. Photo: RNZ Pacific/123RF/Samoa Government/FAST Party
How did Samoa get here?
The political stalemate was prompted by a split in the FAST Party in January, which saw Fiame remove La'auli and several FAST ministers from her Cabinet.
He, in turn, rejected her from FAST, leaving her isolated and leading a minority government.
Parliament consists of 51 members and two reserve seats for women.
The FAST Party has 20 MPs, the HRPP 18, and Fiame 15, including herself.
The Prime Minister's supporters include five Independent MPs and nine MPs still registered with FAST, which would theoretically give the party a majority of 29.
Members of FAST had called for the Prime Minister to step down and allow the party to continue holding office under new leadership.
However, Fiame refused and has survived two leadership challenges so far this year.
She defeated a vote of no confidence in February by 34 votes to 15, after weeks of political turmoil.
La'auli voted alongside Fiame to defeat the motion moved by Tuilaepa against her.
A week later, she overcame a second no confidence vote by 32 votes to 14.
This time, Tuilaepa voted with her to defeat the motion moved by La'auli.
RNZ Pacific has made multiple attempts to contact Tuilaepa for comment on the latest call for an early election, but have not received a response.
