Samoa’s political turmoil deepened on Wednesday as FAST party chairman La’auli Leuatea Schmidt announced the removal of Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and five Cabinet ministers from the ruling party.
Twenty members of the party supported the decision to oust Fiame, along with Deputy Prime Minister Tuala Iosefo Ponifasio and two founding members. The announcement comes after Fiame recently dismissed several Cabinet members, including La’auli, who is facing criminal charges.
Four new Cabinet ministers were sworn in on Wednesday. Fiame defended her decision, stating, “I have the role as prime minister to make the decision on the Parliament of Samoa.”
Reports from local media suggested FAST members had sought Fiame’s removal as prime minister. However, she emphasized, “It is also the Parliament of Samoa who can make the decision on whether or not I stay as prime minister or step down.”
Fiame noted that while the party could remove her as leader, they lacked authority to strip her of the prime ministerial role.
Parliament is scheduled to reconvene on January 21, where the next steps in this political standoff are expected to unfold.