By Lagi Keresoma/
Apia, Samoa – 06 June 2025 – The Office of the Electoral Commission (OEC) has two months to prepare for the general elections on 29 August 2025 following the decision of the Supreme Court that upholds the holding of a general election three months after the dissolution of Parliament.
Parliament was dissolved 3 June after the rejection of the governments budget on 27 May. This puts pressure on the Electoral Office to prepare of a general election.
Last Saturday, the OEC submitted an ex-parte application for a court declaration of when the election should be held.
The OEC wanted clarification as the Constitution says to hold a general election 3 months after the dissolution of parliament but the Electoral Act 2019 says 6 months.
The Supreme Court today ruled in favour of the Constitution.
“We leave it to the Applicant (OEC) to set his own timetable; it may be in line with the 3 month timetable he placed before the court, that all the parties appeared to agree with. But, ultimately, he is best placed to determine how best to manage his resources and the process to meet the objective of holding a credible general election in 2025,” states the decision.
The decision also directs the Commissioner to publicly advertise his timetable and a copy of the decision must be provided to the Head of State, who ultimately has the authority to set the general election date.
With the election now just around the corner, people are rushing in to register. Currently 65,000 have registered but there are still 44,000 yet to be registered.
Proposed Timeframe & Election Process & Operation
* Closure of Registration Roll – 27 June 2025
* Roll Review – 30 June 2025
* Pre-polling application/Open & Close – 26 June 2025 -16 July 2025.
*Nomination period – 30 June 2025 -11 July 2025.
*Last date for nomination challenges 18 July 2025
*Nomination challenges court decision-1 August 2025,
* Campaign period – 12 July 2025 – 24 August 2025 (44 days),
* Last day to withdraw candidates – 14 August 2025
*Pre-polling day – 27 August 2025
*Polling day – 29 August 2025.
* Return of Writ – 10 September 2025
