Parliament Votes To Send Former H.R.P.P. Trio To Court
(Left to right) Tuuu Anasii Leota, Ale Vena Ale and Mauu Siaosi Puepuemai
Photos: Parliament of Samoa
A majority vote in Parliament sends the trio of Members of Parliament (M.P.) who recently left the Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P.) to court where the fate of their seats will be determined.
The vote came after the former H.R.P.P. members Tuuu Anasii Leota, Ale Vena Ale and Mauu George Puepuemai denied the charges laid out in Parliament on Tuesday morning.
Speaker of the House Papalii Lio Taeu-Masipau said all M.P.s are well aware of the departure made by the M.P.s from H.R.P.P. last month.
Papalii issued two statements then following two separate announcements from the trio.
The first announcement came from Tuuu and Ale on 3 November and the second from Mauu on 27 November, he said.
On 14 November and on 28 November, the House Speaker Papalii informed the M.P.s of the charges against them in a public statement.
Papalii said Parliament would give the trio the opportunity to confirm or deny the charges on Tuesday.
They have each been charged with violating Article 46 of the Constitution, Articles 141 through 143 of the Electoral Act 2019 and Parliament Standing Orders.
The trio, each of them given the floor to answer individually, denied the charges.
After their pleas were accepted and recorded, the Deputy Speaker of the House and M.P. for Aiga i le Tai, Auapaau Mulipola Aloitafua moved to send the matters to the judiciary.
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (M.A.F.) Laauli Leuatea Schmidt seconded the motion.
The seats in Parliament – for the Siumu, Faleata No. 4 and Vaa-O-Fonoti electoral constituencies now hang in the balance.
Tuuu, the M.P. for Siumu and Ale, M.P. for Faleata No. 4, rocked the H.R.P.P. party on 3 November when they announced their departure and declared their independence as M.P.s.
Mauu, the M.P. for Va’a o Fonoti, announced his departure three weeks later.
While Tuuu and Ale are senior M.P.s, Mauu is currently serving his first term in Parliament.
Each tendered a letter of resignation to the H.R.P.P. in November.
Tuuu’s choice to go independent will better serve his constituents who put them in Parliament, he told reporters last month in a press conference.
Ale made it clear that “We are not F.A.S.T., not H.R.P.P., not any other party, we are independent.”
“We don’t want to be tied down by a political party. We have to express ourselves,” he said.
Tuuu and Ale said they spoke to their villages and electoral constituencies before their announcement.
Ale and Tuuu said they have received the support of their constituents to leave the H.R.P.P. party and declare their independence.
Faleata No. 4 and Siumu constituents trust in the M.P.s will make whatever decision is best for their villages, electors and the nation, Ale and Tuuu said.
Ale did say in November that, “I think the path I have announced...will lead us to court procedures.”
A few days after the announcement from Tuuu and Ale, House Speaker Papalii released a statement stating that Parliament would make a decision on 20 December.
Ale, M.P. for Faleata No. 4 previously expressed dismay with the Electoral Act 2019 which prohibits M.P.s from changing political parties.
Part 16, Article 141 of the Electoral Act 2019 prescribes that the seat of an M.P. becomes vacant when the M.P. resigns from a political party to join another political party during the Parliamentary term.
Speaker of the House Papalii said last month it is a “sensitive matter.”
“I am well aware that this is a sensitive matter, if the seats for these electoral constituencies are to be vacant, in recognition of fundamental rights of these Members pursuant to Article 47 of the Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa,” said Papalii.
“In this regard, it is the Speakers good intention that this matter should be presented before the Legislative Assembly (Parliament) in its meeting on December 20, 2022 for a just decision on this matter.”
M.P. for Vaa O Fonoti Mauu resigned from H.R.P.P. in late November.
In a letter of resignation submitted to H.R.P.P. leader Tuilaepa Saili Malielagaoi, Mauu stated that the resignation has nothing to do with his association with the H.R.P.P leader and also its members.
Nothing about the leadership influenced his decision, Mauu said.
One thing that he did point out was rising discord between his electoral constituency of Va'a o Fonoti and the Opposition.
His electors have questioned him about any development work being done after two years of being an M.P.
Mau'u acknowledged the H.R.P.P leader Tuilaepa for his service to Samoa but noted it was time for him to serve his district and answer to their wants and needs.
The matters for the former H.R.P.P. trio are most likely to be heard by the Supreme Court.
The court will determine if the M.P.s will retain their seats – or if the seats will be contested in by-elections for Siumu, Faleata No. 4 and Vaa o Fonoti.