Foreign Desk Report
APIA: Samoa has plunged into fresh political turmoil after its head of state abruptly cancelled a parliamentary session expected to confirm the Pacific nation’s first change of government in almost 40 years.
Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II’s order late on Saturday came two days before Samoa’s newly elected parliament was set to convene and swear in opposition FAST Party leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa as the country’s first female prime minister.
Fiame Naomi Mataafa: Samoa set to appoint first female PMCounting under way in tight Samoa electionFierce contest for power as Samoa prepares for general election. In a brief proclamation posted on Facebook, Sualauvi said he was suspending parliament “until such time as to be announced and for reasons that I will make known in due course”.
FAST said it would petition the Supreme Court to overturn the order on Sunday. The appointed head of state’s decision was the latest twist in a political crisis that erupted after an April 9 election ended in a 25-25 tie between the FAST Party and the incumbent Human Rights Protection Party, with one independent candidate.
