Members of Samoa’s FAST party are pushing forward with a second vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, following their outreach to the opposition Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) for support.
Ale Vena Ale, MP for Faleata No.4, confirmed on Friday that discussions are underway with certain HRPP members as FAST prepares to table its motion in parliament. “When the HRPP prepared to have their motion tabled in parliament, they did not reach out to us to support their motion,” Ale said. “But now, as we prepare to present our motion in parliament, we are reaching out to them so we can discuss and reach an agreement.”
Ale further criticized Prime Minister Fiame’s leadership, calling her government “unlawful” due to its minority status. “I think we can all agree that the Prime Minister’s leadership is unlawful given that she’s operating with a minority government,” he added.
FAST Chairman La’auli Leuatea Schmidt, however, sees no need to convince the HRPP, asserting that FAST had already requested the motion last week. He explained, “We declared in parliament last week that we wanted to have a vote of no confidence,” and emphasized that FAST’s earlier opposition to the HRPP’s motion was to prioritize key constitutional changes.
With the motion set for debate, this week’s parliament session will be key for Samoa’s political future.
