Samoa To Elect Its First Female Prime Minister

Fiame Naomi Mataafa is on her path to becoming the first female Prime Minister of Samoa after the country's court ended a month-long political deadlock after the April elections.

According to Reuters, the April elections in Samoa turned out to be a tightly contested one. The head of the state Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II made an attempt to prove the results void but the court overruled it. On Monday, a court in Samoa rejected the election commission's additional parliamentary seat which would have given a brief majority to the incumbent government.

This made the FAST party's Fiame Naomi Mataafa's path clear to take the Prime Minister's seat as she has the 'slim' majority in the country's 51-member parliament. When elected, she will replace former Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi who is one of the longest-serving leaders in the world after governing Samoa for two decades.

He earlier faced criticism for his handling of measles in 2019 which killed 83 mostly young people. His government's close relations with China has also been under scrutiny quote often. According to the census data, Samoa has a large Chinese population with over 200,000 residents of the country of mixed Samoan and Chinese descent.

Since the country had closed its borders very early in 2019 when the coronavirus started to become a pandemic, there were hardly any cases of COVID-19 infections.

According to reports, it is still unclear if Tuilaepa has any legislative or legal windows to remain in his chair. However, Fiame's supporters were seen celebrating the court's judgement as they sang in red dresses.

Who is Fiame Naomi Mataafa ?

Fiame Naomi Mataafa served as the Deputy Prime Minister before she split the government last year by opposing changes to the country's constitution and judicial system. She was the first woman to hold that position. She was also the first female to serve as a cabinet minister in the country. Fiame is the leader of the FAST party.