Apia, Samoa – 05 May 2025 – The Minister of Police, Faualo Harry Schuster is among four people who have declared their interest as candidates in the upcoming general elections for the Apia village.
Rumours have been circulating about the candidates, but no one had officially declared until the village meeting last week when the village Tuua Tuiletufuga Le Mamea Ropati Mualia mentioned the general election.
Le Mamea mentioned three candidates he is aware of who are the former Clerk of Legislative Assembly Tiatia Lima Gramme Tualaulelei, former educator Tonu’u Fuamoli Amituanai Misi and Vaea Ivana Eli.
It was then that the sitting Member of Parliament, the Minister of Police Faualo Harry Schuster told the meeting of his intention to run.
Then former Minister in the last HRPP government, Faaolasā Kakopau Ainu’u threw his name in the hat. He is likely to run as an Independent.
It is not certain which party Faualo will run under as he and five others had been terminated as a members of the FAST Party that has accepted Tonuu Fuamoli Amituanai Misi as the FAST candidate in the upcoming general elections.
Tonuu Fuamoli Amituanai Misi the only woman candidate nominated by Alamagoto village as the FAST candidate in the upcoming general elections.
Reports say that Faualo may link up with a new party together with those terminated from the FAST Party and the nine FAST MPs still in government.
They are wary of establishing a political party officially and declaring their allegiances given the legal premises that may result in them losing their current seats.
The former Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Tiatia Lima Gramme Tualaulelei is likely to run under HRPP as he locked up the Parliament Building barring the FAST Party from entering parliament to be sworn in on 24 May 2021.
Vaea Ivana Eli is not new to the political race as he had either been attached to the former Tautua Party or as an Independent.
The Vaimauga 4 districts comprises of 25 villages with a population of 6044 as of the 2021 census. Apia is one of the smallest villages with 351 people and the biggest are Palisi with 1946, Alamagoto 1734, Lalovaea 1,468, Tufuiopa 842, with Mulivai and Matafele the smallest with 12 people each.
