2021 Samoan general election

General elections will be held in Samoa on 9 April 2021.[1][2] Four parties were originally expected to contest the elections: the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) of incumbent Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, the Tautua Samoa Party (TSP), the Samoa First Party, and the Samoa National Democratic Party.[2] In May 2020 a fifth party, the Tumua ma Puleono, registered for the elections.[3] In July 2020 Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi confirmed that he would be competing in a record fifth election.[4]

This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Samoa
Constitution

Electoral system

The 2021 elections will see 51 members of the Fono elected from single-member constituencies.[5] Universal suffrage was introduced in 1990, permitting Samoan citizens over the age of 21 to vote in person. Candidates were required to be at least 21 years of age, heads of their families and resident of the country for at least three years prior the nomination date. Civil servants and people with mental illness were ineligible to stand as candidates. People convicted for bribery or an electoral offense, and people given a prison sentence of more than two years (including the death sentence), were also ineligible.[6]

The Constitution Amendment Act 2013 ensures a minimum of 10 per cent of seats in parliament were reserved for women.[5][7]

References

  1. Lanuola Tusani Tupufia - Ah Tong (28 April 2020). "2021 General Election date confirmed". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  2. "Samoan 2021 election date announced". RNZ. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  3. "A fifth political party registers for 2021 Samoan elections". RNZ. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  4. "Samoa's PM to run in 2021 general election". RNZ. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  5. "Samoa to bring about changes to parliament". RNZ. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  6. "Samoa (Fono) Electoral system". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  7. "Constitution Amendment Act 2013" (PDF). International Labour Organization. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.