Senior M.P. Wants Some Articles Of Electoral Act 2019 Repealed
Member of Parliament for Faletata No. 4 Ale Vena Ale
Photo: Parliament of Samoa
Independent Member of Parliament (M.P.) Ale Vena Ale is calling for a repeal of some parts of the Electoral Act 2019, specifically the articles that prohibit an M.P. from changing political parties and mandates that the seat of an M.P. who does switch is declared vacant.
Ale, the M.P. for Faleata No. 4, told EyeSpy Radio on Friday that he takes issue with the parts of the law that infringe on an M.P.’s freedom to choose his or her political party and penalises Parliamentarians.
It is a matter of intrinsic human rights afforded to each M.P., he said.
Generally speaking, “the law is good” except for the sections that bar M.P.s from changing political parties and mandates that the seat of an M.P. who does leave his or her political party is declared vacant and then sent to be contested in a by-election, said Ale.
“We are going to apply for a repeal of the of the Electoral Act 219 that says you cannot change your political party,” he said.
“The party did not choose us, the people did. The Electoral Act 2019 forces you to stay in a political party if you like it or not.”
Ale is one of three M.P.s, all former members of the Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P.), who have been charged by the Speaker of the House Papalii Lio Taeu-Masipau with violating Article 46 of the Constitution and Articles 141 through 143 of the Electoral Act 2019.
The trio: Ale, Tuuu Anasii Leota, the M.P. for Siumu, and M.P. for Vaa-o-Fonoti Mauu George Puepuemai, were formally charged by the House Speaker in the latter part of December of 2022.
The three men denied the charges and Parliament voted to have the matter adjudicated in the Supreme Court.
Ale, a senior M.P., takes issue with sections in Articles 140 through 143 of the Electoral Act 2019.
Part 16 sets forth the law concerning membership of a political party within the Legislative Assembly and vacancies.
Part 16, Article 140 “Membership within the Legislative Assembly” requires an M.P. to sit in the Legislative Assembly as a member of the political party which appears on the ballot paper when that candidate was elected, for the duration of the Parliamentary term.
In Article 141 of Part 16 “vacation of a seat in the Legislative Assembly”, it says the seat of an M.P. becomes vacant when he or she resigns from a political party to join another political party during the Parliamentary term.
Article 142 covers “charge with vacation of seat” that states: “If and as soon as the Speaker has reason to believe that a Member’s seat has become vacant on the grounds set out in section 141, the Speaker must charge that Member with that vacation, and if the Legislative Assembly is then sitting must do so orally in the Assembly.”
Article 143 “proof of vacation” states that the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker shall declare the vacation of an M.P.’s seat if he or she admits to a charge under section 142 or if the Supreme Court finds that has vacated his or her seat.
Ale told EyeSpy he has yet to receive the filing that lists the charges he will face in Supreme Court.
“Once it is filed, we will know the charges. We are still waiting for the filing. There is no court date yet because no file has been received. Once it is set, our lawyers will need to prepare and file a response and then we will know the date,” he said.
If the Supreme Court rules that his seat is vacant, Ale said he must contest the seat for Faleata No. 4 in a by-election.
“The law says I cannot leave a political party and we might have to go back to by-elections. I will file to repeal the Act. The law affects my right to choose my political party,” he told EyeSpy.
“People don’t understand that my human rights are affected…my freedom of expression that is allowed for in the Constitution…I am an independent M.P. we will call for a repeal.”
Ale and Tuuu, both senior M.P.s announced their departure from the H.R.P.P. and declared their independence in early November 2022.
Mauu announced his departure from H.R.P.P. in late November of 2022.
If the Supreme Court rules the seats for Faleata No. 4, Siumu and Vaa-o-Fonoti vacant, voters in those three electoral constituencies will head back to the polls.
Based on 2021 voter numbers published by the Office of Electoral Commission (O.E.C.), more than 4,000 voters will head back to the polls in the event of three by-elections.
The Faleata No. 4 electoral constituency includes Safune, Saina, Puipaa and Toamua.
Of the three seats that hang in the balance, Faleata No. 4 saw the most votes cast in the 2021 General Election. There were three candidates and 1,626 valid votes cast (eight informal votes).
The Siumu district includes Maninoa, Matafala, Saaga, Saaga Fou, Siumu and Siumu-uta. Five candidates contested the Siumu seat in the 2021 General Election where there were 1,521 valid (nine informal votes) votes cast.
Vaa-o-Fonoti includes Saletele, Sauago, Lona, Maasina, Saleaumua, Samusu, Satitoa, Tiavea and Utufaalalafa. In the race for the Vaa-o-Fonoti seat, 1,179 valid votes (eight informal votes) were cast.
In mid-December 2022, Cabinet announced the appointment of Tuiafelolo Alexander John Stanley as the new Electoral Commissioner.
Tuiafelolo replaces the former Electoral Commissioner Faimalomatumua Mathew Lemisio who had oversight of the O.E.C. during the historic 2021 General Election that saw voters install a new government.