Samoans Go to the Polls After Tumultuous Campaign 

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Samoans go to the polls on Aug. 29 to elect a new parliament in the wake of their previous government collapsing due to political infighting. The fast-rising cost of living will be on their minds. 

The price of chicken has more than doubled in the last five years, for example, Samoan taxi driver Muaautasi Kirifi Su’a told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “If (families) can’t afford weekly expenses, especially not being able to afford the right food, their children will get sick, and some people won’t live long,” he said. 

Those conditions have been tough for incumbent prime minister Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa, who became the Pacific Island country’s first female leader in the 2021 elections, which ended four decades of rule by the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), led by Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi. Mata’afa, known as the Pacific’s “Iron Lady,” appears steadfast in asserting that she is the best choice on the ballot, however. 

Asked about her greatest accomplishments, she cited leading a robust recovery after the coronavirus pandemic and hitting economic growth targets. 

Mata’afa is the daughter of Samoa’s first prime minister, who ran the country after independence from New Zealand in 1962, noted Radio New Zealand. She has faced numerous crises, from votes of no confidence, the sinking of the Manawanui, a New Zealand naval surveying vessel, on a Samoan reef, a power shortage, and an outbreak of dengue. 

The energy crisis entailed weeks of rolling blackouts that plunged villages into darkness and disrupted daily life and business. In April, CNN reported that Mata’afa forecast a 16-percent loss in gross domestic product due to the shortages. Samoans were scrambling to find kerosene lamps to light up the evenings. 

Mata’afa’s Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi political party, known by its acronym, FAST, fractured in the wake of these problems. In January, Mata’afa fired party chairman La’auli Leuatea Polata’ivao from her cabinet after criminal charges were levied against him. Now she heads the newly formed Samoa Uniting Party and will face La’auli, who heads the rebranded FAST. The general election presumably will filter out those who can’t muster public support. 

Misinformation has become a major issue in the campaign. 

Recently, FAST party officials alleged that Mata’afa was involved in the May 2024 death of Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard, a retired University of Hawaii professor, Samoa Global News reported. Mata’afa has sued for libel. 

Samoan writer and artist Papalii Sia Figiel has been charged with the brutal murder, according to Hawaii News Now. The case has understandably caused a stir in the small country of around 200,000 people. Sinavaiana-Gabbard was Figiel’s mentor. Sinavaiana-Gabbard was also related to local politicians and to Tulsi Gabbard, who is currently the U.S. director of national intelligence. 

Samoans say that no matter who wins, they will be glad the election is over. That’s because, as the Dev Policy Blog noted, “It brings to an end a tumultuous 2025.”