Samoa
30 Years And Counting
Samoa’s Ruling Party Looks Hard To Beat
Samoa's voters will go to the polls in early 2006 to decide who will govern their country for the next five years. And after 23 years in power, the ruling Human Rights Protection Party [HRPP] appears likely to continue its hold on the reins of government. It now controls 33 of the 49 seats in Parliament with the remaining 16 being shared between the opposition Samoa Development United Party (SDUP) and independent members.
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Prime
Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi.
(Photo: Olivier Koning) |
If the numbers of would-be candidates wishing to run under the HRPP banner is any indication, then any betting voter would have to put money on the ruling party winning again, and by a comfortable margin.
Not so, says the leader of the opposition Samoa Development United Party [SDUP] Le Mamea Mualia. "There is a definite mood for a change of government this time," Le Mamea predicts. "HRPP has been in power for too long and it is showing in the way it governs. Voters are becoming disenchanted with the abuse and arrogant use of power by this government. People are naturally afraid to come out openly against the government because it will affect their jobs, businesses, and livelihood. But they want change, and will have their chance to say so at the polls."
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Le Mamea's party has been holding political rallies around the country, taking his party's message to the electorate. "HRPP has been able to hold on to power and to consolidate its rule for this length of time by controlling the oversight institutions of government such as Parliament, the office of the Controller and Chief Auditor, and the Public Service Commission. It has direct control of the publicly owned media, and has been trying as well to control the private media by passing the Publishers and Printers Act, and by using public funds to pay legal costs, should public officials decide to press defamation charges against the media. Samoa is also one of a few countries with criminal libel still on its statutes," Le Mamea says.
Le Mamea says the recent report by the team from the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union [IPU] following Opposition complaints about violations of members rights fully vindicates what his party had been saying for years-that was that Parliament had simply become a political tool of the HRPP party and not the supreme legislative and oversight institution of state, it was meant to be.
The IPU report recommended a number of changes in Parliament. These included official recognition of SDUP as the official Opposition, and changes to the rules of debate to allow more freedom of speech by members. But government has rejected the report, accusing IPU of meddling in Samoa's affairs, raising the possibility of confrontation between the two.
With just months before the looming general elections in early 2006, The Samoa Democratic United Party (SDUP) was dealt a major blow when one of their most senior members of Parliament was killed in Auckland in October.
Vase Iosefa Falaniko, a 47-year-old Samoan from Manurewa, South Auckland, is charged with the murder of MP Su'a Atonio Lemi with court proceedings already underway.
Su'a was reportedly in New Zealand on a fundraising trip for SDUP when he was allegedly stabbed in the chest by Falaniko. Renowned for his outspoken view and heated exchanges in Parliament, the 54 year-old was particularly vocal against reported corruption within the civil service during the election buildup.
Le Mamea Mualia's views about restoring the integrity of Samoa's oversight institutions are shared by Su'a Rimoni Ah Chong, leader of a new political group formed to contest the elections. As a former Controller and Chief Auditor, Su'a issued a damning audit of government accounts in 1995, implicating a number of government ministers and officials in violation of financial regulations.
Disagreement on the handling of the audit report led to Su'a's dismissal and to a change in the country's Constitution. Transparency International later awarded Su'a an accountability and transparency prize for his efforts.
"I am not a politician," Su'a says. "But I feel very strongly about what has been happening to the constitutional safeguards that protect against corruption, against misuse of power, and which help provide good governance in our system of government. You cannot have good governance when key oversight institutions such as Parliament have been effectively undermined and have lost their independence."
The opposition groups, and there may be others as well coming out in the coming months, clearly have an uphill struggle to topple the ruling HRPP party from its perch. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has said his party will win another term in office, and that is because, it always delivers on its promises. Public sector workers have just been given a 40 percent salary and wage increase, as part of a major remuneration restructuring exercise in the public sector.
The economy continues to grow at a creditable 2 to 4 percent, led by a buoyant construction sector as the country gears up for the 2007 South Pacific Games. Investment in tourism infrastructure is picking up. Meanwhile, expatriate Samoans keep up the flow of remittances, which make up the bulk of Samoa's foreign exchange earnings.
But it is still early days. Rumors persist of dissension in the ranks of the ruling HRPP Party especially over leadership. A recent reshuffle in portfolios has added fuel to the rumors. In any case, if the present government wins another five-year term in office, it will have been in power for a record 30 years without interruption. And this is during a time when political instability has emerged as a major concern in other parts of the region. -- Additional reporting by Peter Rees
