Order halts Samoa’s Parliament

Prime minister-elect alleges attempt to prevent transition

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — The Pacific island nation of Samoa hurtled toward a constitutional crisis on Saturday when the head of state announced that he was suspending Parliament just two days before it was scheduled to swear in the country’s first new prime minister in more than two decades.

In a single-page letter posted on Facebook, Va’aletoa Sualauvi II, Samoa’s appointed head of state, announced that Parliament would be suspended “until such time as to be announced and for reasons that I will make known in due course.”

Samoa’s Parliament had been scheduled to officially reopen on Monday, fulfilling a constitutional requirement to convene within 45 days of the April 9 election. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, the leader of the newcomer party FAST, was to be sworn in as prime minister, ending Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi’s 22-year tenure.

Speaking by phone from Samoa early today, Mata’afa said the proclamation was an attempt to prevent her party from taking power. “This is a coup,” she said. Tuilaepa could not be reached for comment.

Mata’afa and her party, which campaigned on a platform of upholding the rule of law, have not yet given up hope for a legal resolution. Anticipating a roadblock before the proclamation was issued, the party’s lawyers had prepared paperwork to challenge it. They want the country’s Supreme Court to issue a ruling that would allow Parliament to convene on Monday as scheduled.

It is unclear whether Sualauvi, whose role is ordinarily ceremonial, has the legal authority to suspend Parliament indefinitely or prevent it from meeting within the 45-day window.

The latest uproar comes after weeks of breakneck events. A surprise dead heat in the electoral contest resulted in more than 20 legal challenges, including an attempt to block Mata’afa’s appointment by using a law meant to ensure that more women serve in Parliament.

To comply with the law, Tuilaepa had argued, Parliament needed to add another seat by appointing an additional woman from his party, an act that would have given his party enough seats to hold onto the premiership. The argument and a call for a second election were ultimately rejected by the courts.

A seasoned politician, Mata’afa has been in politics for more than 30 years and is the daughter of Samoa’s first prime minister. Her defection to FAST helped propel it to electoral success, eventually inspiring an influential independent candidate to throw his weight behind the party and break a tie.

Tuilaepa has made it clear that he will not vacate his position without a fight. Despite Mata’afa’s party holding 26 of the 51 available seats, Tuilaepa and his party had rejected multiple calls to concede.

Addressing the country in a live Facebook broadcast late Saturday, Mata’afa urged Samoans to keep the peace. “We just need to try and find a rational way to get through this and keep people calm,” she said afterward. “There are still some sensible people around, and we can work through this.”

But she acknowledged that Tuilaepa and his supporters could still resist the transition of power: “We had been expecting that some other effort would be made, and I expect even more to come along.”