Appointment of female MP unconstitutional: FAST
APIA: The Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party in Samoa is hoping its call for the appointment of an additional female MP to Parliament to be declared null and void will be resolved soon.
The Electoral Commissioner announced on Tuesday that Ali’imalemanu Moti Momoemausu Alofa Tuuau, of the governing Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), would become the 52nd MP to ensure a minimum of 10% of seats in the parliament were held by women.
It came as independent MP Tuala Tevaga Iosefo Ponifasio confirmed he would join the FAST party following more than a week of postelection deliberations, in which he held the balance of power.
He would have ended a stalemate with his decision. However, the creation of an additional parliamentary seat left the parliament in a 2626 deadlock.
In the country’s poll 12 days ago, five women were elected.
FAST party leader Fiame
Naomi Mata’afa said the party considered that satisfied the constitutional requirement, because the document specified five seats for women.
She said the party had now made a submission to the Supreme Court on the grounds the Electoral Commissioner’s actions were unconstitutional.
‘‘In the body of the constitution it defines the number of women as five,’’ she said.
An additional seat was added after an article in the country’s constitution, regarding female representation, was activated.
Article 44 (1A) requires that a minimum of 10% of Parliament’s seats be occupied by women.
In a public notice late on Tuesday, the Electoral Commission Office announced the article had been activated because the election results had not met the 10% threshold.
Rather, ‘‘only 9.8% of the
women membership was achieved after the general election’’, it said.
The extra seat was allocated to the female candidate who came closest to winning an electorate seat.
HRPP, which has controlled Samoa for close to four decades, has faced its stiffest challenge yet from FAST.
Parties have 45 days after election day to form a government. — RNZ