Staff Reporters/
Apia, Samoa – 22 February 2025 – Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa – has called the Opposition Leader’s latest call for Fiame’s resignation ahead of the no-confidence vote in parliament next Tuesday, “as another desperate attempt to stir political drama.”
Tuilaepa made the call in the media yesterday for Fiame to resign ahead of the vote of no confidence he is moving in parliament next Tuesday.
In a press statement today Fiame said she has made it abundantly clear that she will not resign.
“If Tuilaepa truly believes in democracy and the Constitution, then he should bring his issue to Parliament instead of making noise in the media.
The statement said that “the Prime Minister’s stance is firm: she was elected to lead, and she will not step down just because Tuilaepa demands it.”
Tuilaepa is challenging the constitutionality of what he believes is a minority government led by Fiame who had been sacked by the FAST Party along with five other Cabinet Ministers and the twenty break away FAST MPs signed a letter last month expressing no confidence in her leadership.
Since the current political uncertainty, the FAST Party Leader Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao said the party still holds 29 members of parliament and will not support a motion of no confidence.
The FAST Party however wants Fiame to resign as Prime Minister and the party still has the numbers to form a new government to continue the rest of the current term until March 2026.
Fiame insists that the Constitution and Standing Orders already outline the process for a no-confidence motion.
She said that if Tuilaepa thinks he has the numbers, then let Parliament decide.
“If not, then he should stop wasting everyone’s time with his usual distractions,” said Fiame.
“Tuilaepa, stop misleading the public and take your fight where it belongs—inside the walls of Parliament,” she stated.
In a press conference yesterday, Laauli did not give away much as to what the FAST party plans to do when the motion of no confidence comes up in parliament next Tuesday.
Since Samoa became independent in 1962, the only time a government lost parliaments confidence was when the Tupuola Efi government’s budget was rejected by an HRPP majority in December 1982.
