73-553: Politics of Samoa takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic state whereby the Prime Minister of Samoa is the head of government . Existing alongside the country's Western-styled political system is the faʻamatai chiefly system of socio-political governance and organisation, central to understanding Samoa's political system. From the country's independence in 1962, only matai could vote and stand as candidates in elections to parliament. In 1990,
146-666: A council–manager government , is used by many local governments in the United States . The first parliaments date back to Europe in the Middle Ages. The earliest example of a parliament is disputed, especially depending how the term is defined. For example, the Icelandic Althing consisting of prominent individuals among the free landowners of the various districts of the Icelandic Commonwealth first gathered around
219-422: A change in power without an election, and for allowing elections at any time. Bagehot considered fixed-term elections such as the four-year election rule for presidents of the United States to be unnatural, as it can potentially allow a president who has disappointed the public with a dismal performance in the second year of his term to continue on until the end of his four-year term. Under a parliamentary system,
292-628: A definite election calendar can be abused. Under some systems, such as the British, a ruling party can schedule elections when it believes that it is likely to retain power, and so avoid elections at times of unpopularity. (From 2011, election timing in the UK was partially fixed under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 , which was repealed by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 .) Thus, by
365-465: A different party. In Canada and Australia, there are no restraints on legislators switching sides. In New Zealand, waka-jumping legislation provides that MPs who switch parties or are expelled from their party may be expelled from Parliament at the request of their former party's leader. A few parliamentary democracies such as the United Kingdom and New Zealand have weak or non-existent checks on
438-460: A directly elected lower house with the power to determine the executive government, and an upper house which may be appointed or elected through a different mechanism from the lower house. Scholars of democracy such as Arend Lijphart distinguish two types of parliamentary democracies: the Westminster and Consensus systems. Implementations of the parliamentary system can also differ as to how
511-616: A member of the HRPP. When the Supreme Court questioned this on 4 May, Sualauvi called a snap election for 21 May, declaring the April results void. However, on 17 May the Supreme Court ruled the 52nd seat unconstitutional. They also ruled the calling of a new election unconstitutional, and that the April election results would stand. The constitutional crisis ended on 23 July when the Court of Appeal ruled that
584-630: A powerful president with an executive responsible to parliament: for example, the French Fifth Republic . Parliamentarianism may also apply to regional and local governments . An example is Oslo which has an executive council (Byråd) as a part of the parliamentary system. The devolved nations of the United Kingdom are also parliamentary and which, as with the UK Parliament , may hold early elections – this has only occurred with regards to
657-468: A prime minister that has lost support in the middle of his term can be easily replaced by his own peers with a more popular alternative, as the Conservative Party in the UK did with successive prime ministers David Cameron , Theresa May , Boris Johnson , Liz Truss , and Rishi Sunak . Although Bagehot praised parliamentary governments for allowing an election to take place at any time, the lack of
730-479: A rapid change in legislation and policy as long as there is a stable majority or coalition in parliament, allowing the government to have 'few legal limits on what it can do' When combined with first-past-the-post voting , this system produces the classic "Westminster model" with the twin virtues of strong but responsive party government. This electoral system providing a strong majority in the House of Commons, paired with
803-507: A shrewd timing of elections, in a parliamentary system, a party can extend its rule for longer than is feasible in a presidential system. This problem can be alleviated somewhat by setting fixed dates for parliamentary elections, as is the case in several of Australia's state parliaments. In other systems, such as the Dutch and the Belgian, the ruling party or coalition has some flexibility in determining
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#1733092657481876-609: A system became particularly prevalent in older British dominions, many of which had their constitutions enacted by the British parliament; such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Irish Free State and the Union of South Africa . Some of these parliaments were reformed from, or were initially developed as distinct from their original British model: the Australian Senate , for instance, has since its inception more closely reflected
949-476: A warning example of the flaws of parliamentary systems that if the United States had a parliamentary system, Donald Trump , as head of government, could have dissolved the United States Congress . The ability for strong parliamentary governments to push legislation through with the ease of fused power systems such as in the United Kingdom, whilst positive in allowing rapid adaptation when necessary e.g.
1022-408: A ʻāiga ) at the time of independence, Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole and Malietoa Tanumafili II , were given lifetime appointments to jointly hold the office of head of state ( O le Ao o le Malo ). Another paramount chief, Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II was elected into parliament and became the first Prime Minister of Samoa . The fourth, Tuiaana Tuimalealiʻifano Suatipatipa II , was made a member of
1095-456: Is rather what is often criticized about presidential systems. Fontaine compares United Kingdom's Margaret Thatcher to the United States' Ronald Reagan noting the former head of government was much more powerful despite governing under a parliamentary system. The rise to power of Viktor Orbán in Hungary has been claimed to show how parliamentary systems can be subverted. The situation in Hungary
1168-406: Is their ability to allow and accommodate more diverse viewpoints. He states that because "legislators are not compelled to vote against their constituents on matters of local concern, parties can serve as organizational and roll-call cuing vehicles without forcing out dissidents." All current parliamentary democracies see the indirect election or appointment of their head of government. As a result,
1241-552: Is vested in the assembly, but the government generally controls legislation through its weight of numbers in the Fono . The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The 1960 Constitution, which formally came into force with independence, is based on the British Westminster model of parliamentary democracy , modified to take account of Samoan customs. Two of Samoa's four highest ranking paramount chiefs ( tama
1314-536: The 1708 Scottish Militia Bill . Whilst both the UK and New Zealand have some Acts or parliamentary rules establishing supermajorities or additional legislative procedures for certain legislation, such as previously with the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (FTPA), these can be bypassed through the enactment of another that amends or ignores these supermajorities away, such as with the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019 – bypassing
1387-603: The Council of Deputies (deputy head of state). After Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole's death in 1963, Malietoa continued to hold the post of Head of State alone. He died in May 2007 and his successor, Tui Ātua Tupua Tamasese Efi was elected by the legislature for a five-year term in June 2007. At the time the Constitution was adopted it was anticipated that future Heads of State would be chosen from among
1460-848: The French Third Republic where the Radical Party and its centre-left allies dominated the government for several decades. However, the rise of Fascism in the 1930s put an end to parliamentary democracy in Italy and Germany, among others. After the Second World War , the defeated fascist Axis powers were occupied by the victorious Allies . In those countries occupied by the Allied democracies (the United States , United Kingdom , and France ) parliamentary constitutions were implemented, resulting in
1533-519: The Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) in 1979. The 1978 election was the first time a non-Tama-a-Aiga was chosen as Prime Minister. The election of Tupuola Efi to the prime ministership by his supporters was met with staunch opposition from various quarters of the Fono and caused huge controversy at the time because he had defeated a Tama-a-Aiga candidate. The HRPP was set up in part to oppose
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#17330926574811606-473: The Northern Ireland Assembly in 2017 and 2022 . A few parliamentary democratic nations such as India , Pakistan and Bangladesh have enacted laws that prohibit floor crossing or switching parties after the election. Under these laws, elected representatives will lose their seat in the parliament if they go against their party in votes. In the UK parliament, a member is free to cross over to
1679-726: The US Senate than the British House of Lords ; whereas since 1950 there is no upper house in New Zealand. Many of these countries such as Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados have severed institutional ties to Great Britain by becoming republics with their own ceremonial Presidents, but retain the Westminster system of government. The idea of parliamentary accountability and responsible government spread with these systems. Democracy and parliamentarianism became increasingly prevalent in Europe in
1752-485: The fused power system results in a particularly powerful government able to provide change and 'innovate'. The United Kingdom's fused power system is often noted to be advantageous with regard to accountability. The centralised government allows for more transparency as to where decisions originate from, this contrasts with the American system with Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon saying "the president blames Congress,
1825-412: The head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of the legislature , to which they are held accountable. This head of government is usually, but not always, distinct from a ceremonial head of state . This is in contrast to a presidential system, which features a president who is not fully accountable to
1898-794: The parliamentary constitutions of Italy and West Germany (now all of Germany) and the 1947 Constitution of Japan . The experiences of the war in the occupied nations where the legitimate democratic governments were allowed to return strengthened the public commitment to parliamentary principles; in Denmark , a new constitution was written in 1953, while a long and acrimonious debate in Norway resulted in no changes being made to that country's strongly entrenched democratic constitution . A parliamentary system may be either bicameral , with two chambers of parliament (or houses) or unicameral , with just one parliamentary chamber. A bicameral parliament usually consists of
1971-453: The 1970s, Fono debate was conducted in the typical 'consensus' style manner of the faamatai system in the villages. This meant due deference was usually shown to the Tama-a-Aiga within parliament (the highest ranking chiefs in the nation). Debate usually ended up with the members supporting the then Tama-a-Aiga prime minister or other highly ranked chiefs in the house. Fiame Mataafa Mulinuu II
2044-563: The 2/3rd supermajority required for an early dissolution under the FTPA -, which enabled the early dissolution for the 2019 general election . Parliamentarism metrics allow a quantitative comparison of the strength of parliamentary systems for individual countries. One parliamentarism metric is the Parliamentary Powers Index. Parliamentary systems like that found in the United Kingdom are widely considered to be more flexible, allowing
2117-453: The Benelux countries require a sitting member of the legislature to resign such positions upon being appointed to the executive. Furthermore, there are variations as to what conditions exist (if any) for the government to have the right to dissolve the parliament: The parliamentary system can be contrasted with a presidential system which operates under a stricter separation of powers, whereby
2190-662: The Congress blames the president, and the public remains confused and disgusted with government in Washington". Furthermore, ministers of the U.K. cabinet are subject to weekly Question Periods in which their actions/policies are scrutinised; no such regular check on the government exists in the U.S. system. A 2001 World Bank study found that parliamentary systems are associated with less corruption. In his 1867 book The English Constitution , Walter Bagehot praised parliamentary governments for producing serious debates, for allowing for
2263-553: The F.A.S.T. Party was the new Government as from 24 May, and that Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa was the legitimate Prime Minister as from that date. [1] In August 2022, Samoa's Legislative Assembly reappointed Tuimaleali’ifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II as the Head of State for a second term of five years. The Samoa Democratic United Party (formed after the 2001 elections) bringing together the Samoa National Development Party and
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2336-564: The HRPP by an even larger margin than 2001. The HRPP won 32 seats to the SDUP's 10, with a third major party - the Samoa Party - not gaining any. The majority of independents joined the HRPP to increase the party's majority to 39 seats in the 49 seat parliament. Internal SDUP infighting led to the party's parliamentary members splitting. Leader Le Mamea Ropati was ousted in a coup led by deputy leader Asiata Dr Saleimoa Vaai, who then assumed leadership of
2409-678: The Native Land and Titles Commission put in place under the German colonial administration in 1903. Samoa's political stability is thought to be due in large part to the success of this court in hearing disputes (Source?). The current Chief Justice is Satiu Simativa Perese . Previous chief justices have included Conrad Cedercrantz (appointed first Chief Justice in 1890), Henry Clay Ide (1893–1897), William Lea Chambers (1897–c.1900), W.L. Taylor, C. Roberts, Charles Croft Marsack (1947–), Norman F. Smith and Gaven Donne (1972–1974) From independence until
2482-737: The Opposition and represented the constituency for Lefaga & Falese'ela for over thirty years. He was a founding member of the Human Rights Protection Party . Le Mamea was educated at Samoa College and later studied pharmacy at the University of Otago , graduating in 1970 to become Samoa's first pharmacy graduate. He worked as chief pharmacist at Cherry Farm Psychiatric Hospital in Hawksbury, New Zealand . He returned to Samoa in 1971 and became chief pharmacist at Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital in Apia . He
2555-448: The SDUP. Le Mamea and supporters became independents and thus reduced the SDUP's MPs to only 7. This was not enough to be formally recognised in the Fono as an official opposition party (they needed at least 8 MPs). Therefore, there was no official opposition party recognised in the Samoan parliament. In 2020, proposed constitutional changes, including the removal of customary land courts from
2628-664: The Samoa Independent Party) is led by the long serving Member of Parliament, Hon. Le Mamea Ropati Mualia. Other parties include(d) the Samoan Progressive Conservative Party , the Samoa All People's Party , and the Samoa Liberal Party . Samoa is divided into 11 districts: Parliamentary system A parliamentary system , or parliamentary democracy , is a form of government where
2701-489: The Samoan seats. There are more than 25,000 matai in the country, about 5% of whom are women. Le Mamea Ropati is the sole current member of the Council of Deputies, and acts as deputy to the head of state. The judicial system is based on English common law and local customs. The Supreme Court of Samoa is the court of highest jurisdiction. The Court of Appeal has limited jurisdiction to hear only those cases referred to it by
2774-581: The Supreme Court. Below the Supreme Court are the district courts. The chief justice of the Supreme Court is appointed by the Head of State on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Perhaps the most important court in Samoa is the Land and Titles Court of Samoa , consisting of cultural and judicial experts appointed by the supreme court. This court hears village land and title succession disputes. The court derives from
2847-431: The country's civil and criminal matters are dealt with by some 360 village chief councils, Fono o Matai , according to traditional law, a practice further strengthened by the 1990 Village Fono Law. The national government ( malo ) generally controls the legislative assembly as it is formed from the party which controls the majority seats in the assembly. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power
2920-613: The current Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte and his party the VVD 's 4 terms in office, despite their peak support reaching only 26.6% in 2012 . National Assembly elects the President who appoints the Prime Minister Le Mamea Ropati Tuiletufuga Le Mamea Ropati Mualia is a Samoan politician, and member of the Council of Deputies . He has served as a Cabinet Minister , Leader of
2993-408: The election date. Conversely, flexibility in the timing of parliamentary elections can avoid periods of legislative gridlock that can occur in a fixed period presidential system. In any case, voters ultimately have the power to choose whether to vote for the ruling party or someone else. According to Arturo Fontaine , parliamentary systems in Europe have yielded very powerful heads of government which
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3066-429: The electorate has limited power to remove or install the person or party wielding the most power. Although strategic voting may enable the party of the prime minister to be removed or empowered, this can be at the expense of voters first preferences in the many parliamentary systems utilising first past the post , or having no effect in dislodging those parties who consistently form part of a coalition government, as with
3139-472: The end of the parliamentary term. In February 2016 he was elected to the Council of Deputies alongside Tuiloma Pule Lameko as Deputy Head of State. Following Lameko's death in 2018 he was left as the only member of the council. During the 2021 Samoan constitutional crisis , Le Mamea was approached by the winning FAST Party to swear-in Members of Parliament following the Head of State's decision to boycott
3212-491: The executive does not form part of—nor is appointed by—the parliamentary or legislative body. In such a system, parliaments or congresses do not select or dismiss heads of government, and governments cannot request an early dissolution as may be the case for parliaments (although the parliament may still be able to dissolve itself, as in the case of Cyprus ). There also exists the semi-presidential system that draws on both presidential systems and parliamentary systems by combining
3285-447: The four tama a ʻāiga. However, this is not required by the Constitution and for this reason Samoa can be considered a parliamentary republic rather than a constitutional monarchy like the United Kingdom. Parliament (the Fono) can also amend the constitution through a simple majority of votes in the house. The Samoa system is a very hard model of parliamentary democracy where the executive and
3358-567: The government of Tofilau Eti Alesana . As Minister of Education he established the National University of Samoa with an initial budget of $ 5. After the 1985 election he was not reappointed to Cabinet, and in December 1985 he joined ten other HRPP members in crossing the floor to support Vaʻai Kolone as Prime Minister. He was re-elected in the 1988 election , but subsequently convicted of nine counts of personation and lost his seat. He
3431-477: The head of government is also head of state but is elected by the legislature. In bicameral parliaments, the head of government is generally, though not always, a member of the lower house . Parliamentary democracy is the dominant form of government in the European Union , Oceania , and throughout the former British Empire , with other users scattered throughout Africa and Asia . A similar system, called
3504-409: The legislative arms of government are fused together. The prime minister is chosen by a majority in the Fono and is appointed by the head of state to form a government. The prime minister's preferred cabinet of 12 is appointed and sworn in by the head of state, subject to the continuing confidence of the Fono, which since the rise of political parties in Samoa in the 1980s, is controlled by the party with
3577-550: The legislative power of their Parliaments, where any newly approved Act shall take precedence over all prior Acts. All laws are equally unentrenched, wherein judicial review may not outright annul nor amend them, as frequently occurs in other parliamentary systems like Germany . Whilst the head of state for both nations ( Monarch , and or Governor General ) has the de jure power to withhold assent to any bill passed by their Parliament, this check has not been exercised in Britain since
3650-413: The legislature, and cannot be replaced by a simple majority vote. Countries with parliamentary systems may be constitutional monarchies , where a monarch is the head of state while the head of government is almost always a member of parliament , or parliamentary republics , where a mostly ceremonial president is the head of state while the head of government is from the legislature. In a few countries,
3723-520: The majority of members in the Fono (the government). The unicameral legislature, named the Fono Aoao Faitulafono (National Legislative Assembly) contains 49 members serving five-year terms. Forty-seven are elected from ethnic Samoan territorial constituencies; the other two are chosen by the Samoan citizens of non-Samoan origin on a separate electoral roll. Universal suffrage was extended in 1990, but only chiefs (matai) may stand for election to
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#17330926574813796-661: The nationalisation of services during the world wars, in the opinion of some commentators does have its drawbacks. For instance, the flip-flopping of legislation back and forth as the majority in parliament changed between the Conservatives and Labour over the period 1940–1980, contesting over the nationalisation and privatisation of the British Steel Industry resulted in major instability for the British steel sector. In R. Kent Weaver's book Are Parliamentary Systems Better? , he writes that an advantage of presidential systems
3869-494: The number of seats retained by HRPP. The one remaining seat was won by the independent Tuala Iosefo Ponifasio . These results, which would provide the parliament its first official opposition party in over a decade, were immediately disputed by the HRPP. On 20 April the Election Commissioner announced that a 52nd seat had been created and approved by head of state Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II , and given to
3942-472: The oversight of the Supreme Court, generated significant opposition. The passage of these laws caused the creation of the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party in opposition. The new party gained the support of some prominent political figures, including Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa , who defected from the HRPP to FAST and became its leader. During the 2021 Samoan general election , FAST won 25 seats, equal to
4015-510: The party to become an independent, resulting in the party no longer being recognised in parliament. He subsequently declined to join the Tautua Samoa Party . Following a request from his village, he contested the 2011 election as a candidate for the Human Rights Protection Party . Following his re-election, he was appointed to Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. In June 2015, Le Mamea announced that he would retire at
4088-527: The period 1707 to 1800 and its contemporary, the Parliamentary System in Sweden between 1721 and 1772 , and later in Europe and elsewhere in the 19th and 20th centuries, with the expansion of like institutions, and beyond In England, Simon de Montfort is remembered as one of the figures relevant later for convening two famous parliaments. The first , in 1258, stripped the king of unlimited authority and
4161-409: The planned sitting of Parliament on 24 May 2021. A Supreme Court ruling upheld the Head of State's earlier proclamation convening Parliament however, the Head of State and former Prime Minister refused to uphold the court's decision. Le Mamea declined FAST Party's request and refused to swear-in the elected MPs. He has subsequently played no further part during the events that followed. He has remained
4234-563: The power to pass legislation, apart from the custom. An early example of parliamentary government developed in today's Netherlands and Belgium during the Dutch revolt (1581), when the sovereign, legislative and executive powers were taken over by the States General of the Netherlands from the monarch, King Philip II of Spain . Significant developments Kingdom of Great Britain , in particular in
4307-437: The prime minister and government are appointed and whether the government needs the explicit approval of the parliament, rather than just the absence of its disapproval. While most parliamentary systems such as India require the prime minister and other ministers to be a member of the legislature, in other countries like Canada and the United Kingdom this only exists as a convention, some other countries including Norway, Sweden and
4380-518: The responsibility for chairing cabinet to go to the leading minister, literally the prime or first minister, Robert Walpole . The gradual democratisation of parliament with the broadening of the voting franchise increased parliament's role in controlling government, and in deciding whom the king could ask to form a government. By the 19th century, the Great Reform Act of 1832 led to parliamentary dominance, with its choice invariably deciding who
4453-405: The same effect; the presidential election, and the legislative election, and that the president's party has the legislative supermajority required for constitutional amendments. Safeguards against this situation implementable in both systems include the establishment of an upper house or a requirement for external ratification of constitutional amendments such as a referendum . Fontaine also notes as
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#17330926574814526-645: The second, in 1265, included ordinary citizens from the towns . Later, in the 17th century, the Parliament of England pioneered some of the ideas and systems of liberal democracy culminating in the Glorious Revolution and passage of the Bill of Rights 1689 . In the Kingdom of Great Britain , the monarch, in theory, chaired the cabinet and chose ministers. In practice, King George I 's inability to speak English led to
4599-415: The then Prime Minister, Tupuola Efi, and also to demand greater rights for farmers. One of the founding members was Va'ai Kolone - a famous farmer turned politician from the rural Savai'i constituency of Vaisigano . Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi eventually became Head of State in 2007 under his Tafaifa title Tui Atua and Tama-a-Aiga titles Tupua Tamasese. From 1982 to 2021, the majority party in Parliament
4672-415: The voting system was changed by the Electoral Amendment Act which introduced universal suffrage . However, the right to stand for elections remains with matai title holders. Therefore, in the 51-seat parliament, all 49 Samoan Members of Parliament are also matai , performing dual roles as chiefs and modern politicians, with the exception of the two seats reserved for non-Samoans. At the local level, much of
4745-420: The year 930 (it conducted its business orally, with no written record allowing an exact date). The first written record of a parliament, in particular in the sense of an assembly separate from the population called in presence of a King was 1188 Alfonso IX, King of Leon (Spain) convened the three states in the Cortes of León . The Corts of Catalonia were the first parliament of Europe that officially obtained
4818-561: The years after World War I , partially imposed by the democratic victors, the United States, Great Britain and France, on the defeated countries and their successors, notably Germany's Weimar Republic and the First Austrian Republic . Nineteenth-century urbanisation , the Industrial Revolution and modernism had already made the parliamentarist demands of the Radicals and the emerging movement of social democrats increasingly impossible to ignore; these forces came to dominate many states that transitioned to parliamentarism, particularly in
4891-452: Was according to Fontaine allowed by the deficient separation of powers that characterises parliamentary and semi-presidential systems. Once Orbán's party got two-thirds of the seats in Parliament in a single election, a supermajority large enough to amend the Hungarian constitution, there was no institution that was able to balance the concentration of power. In a presidential system it would require at least two separate elections to create
4964-404: Was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Samoa in the 1979 election . He was one of the founding members of the Human Rights Protection Party , and following the 1982 election was appointed to cabinet in the first HRPP government as Minister of Lands Survey, Post Office and Broadcasting. He subsequently served as Minister of Education, Youth, Sports & Cultural Affairs and Labour in
5037-492: Was prime minister and the complexion of the government. Other countries gradually adopted what came to be called the Westminster system of government, with an executive answerable to the lower house of a bicameral parliament, and exercising, in the name of the head of state, powers nominally vested in the head of state – hence the use of phrases such as Her Majesty's government (in constitutional monarchies) or His Excellency's government (in parliamentary republics ). Such
5110-419: Was re-elected as Prime Minister unopposed for most of the period between 1962 and 1975. There were no political parties in these consensus-style parliaments of the 1960s and early 1970s. In the 1970-73 parliament, the first woman speaker of the Fono was chosen - Leaupepe Faima'ala. However, rising competition and differences in views between MPs in the 1970s led to the establishment of the first political party -
5183-413: Was re-elected in the 1991 election , and following the 2001 election became leader of the Samoan National Development Party and Leader of the Opposition. He subsequently became leader of the Samoan Democratic United Party following its formation in 2003. He was reappointed as leader following the 2006 election , but in August 2006 was replaced by Asiata Sale'imoa Va'ai . In September 2006 he left
5256-654: Was replaced by his deputy, Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi . Parliamentary elections were held in March 2001. The Human Rights Protection Party, led by Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi , won 23 of the 49 seats in the 13th parliament. The Samoa Democratic United Party, led by Le Mamea Ropati, is the main opposition. Other political parties are the Samoa Party, the Christian Party, and the Samoa Progressive Political Party. The March 2006 elections were again won by
5329-461: Was the HRPP, save for a short period in 1985 when Va'ai Kolone leading a coalition of parties won the election but had to resign as MPs crossed the floor to the HRPP. Tofilau Eti Alesana regained the Prime Ministership after Vaai resigned. HRPP leader Tofilau Eti Alesana served as prime minister for nearly all of the period between 1982 and 1998, when he resigned for health reasons. Tofilau Eti
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