Samoa appoints its first female prime minister, Fiami Naomi Mutafa: NPR

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A court ruling ended a months-long political crisis, allowing Fiame Naomi Mata’afa (here in 2013) to become the first woman to lead Samoa. Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images Hide Caption

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A court ruling ended a months-long political crisis, allowing Fiame Naomi Mata’afa (here in 2013) to become the first woman to lead Samoa.

Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images

Samoa will lead a female prime minister for the first time in its history after an appeals court ruling ended a months-long constitutional crisis in the Pacific island nation.

Since a tight general election in April, two people have claimed to be the legitimate prime minister: Tuilaiba Saileli Maleligawi, the head of the Human Rights Protection Party who has been prime minister for more than two decades, and Viam Naomi. Matava, chairwoman of the new Fa’atuatua I Le Atua Samoa ua Tasi party, or FAST, making her the first woman to lead the country.

The saga that followed, featured legislative deadlocks, historic court rulings, and a sensational swearing-in private ceremony held outside the closed doors of Parliament in May after Maleligawi refused to let FAST party members inside.

But the appeals court ruled on Friday that the ceremony was lawful, formally handing the office over to a scrutiny and ending four decades of Maliligawi’s rule.

There are no legal avenues for Maleligawi to remain in office and extend his term as prime minister for 22 years. But observers say whether the crisis is truly over will depend on his actions in the coming days.

Meanwhile, politicians and FAST supporters celebrated the historic transfer of power outside the courtroom in Mulinu’u, where the country’s parliament is located.

“The path we have taken is full of obstacles. We are humbled, and grateful to God that our mission has been accomplished, we have come. Despite the obstacles in our path, this is our moment, let us advance from here,” said Laaulialemalietoa Polataivao Schmidt, FAST founder and party MP for the party, Speaking to The Guardian.

The outgoing Human Rights Protection Party has dominated politics in Samoa for decades. After the previous elections in 2016, the party won all but two seats in Parliament, effectively dissolving the then opposition party. Then, a group of politicians formed a new opposition party, FAST, ahead of the 2021 general election.

The election, held in early April, ended in a tie, with both parties winning 25 seats in the 51-seat legislature, leaving one member independent.

But Samoa’s constitution requires that women hold at least 10% of legislative seats, and that women make up only 9.8% after the April elections. As a result, an electoral commission announced that an additional candidate from the Party for the Protection of Human Rights, a woman, would be elected by a 26-25-1 majority. The Independent then joined FAST, deadlocking the legislature on 26-26.

The country’s Supreme Court ruled in May that the electoral commission’s decision to add an additional seat was invalid, giving FAST a majority at 26-25, ordered Parliament to reconvene and swore the winners.

But Maleligawi refused to step down, claiming instead to be the legitimate prime minister. He triggered a dramatic spectacle by shutting down Mutafa and her supporters outside Parliament House in May, letting them hold their swearing-in ceremonies outside the doors.

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