Le Mamea Ropati or Asiata Saleimoa Va’ai’?

Apulu Lance Polu and Dev Nadkarni
Samoa finds itself in an unusual position of being a democracy without an Opposition party in Parliament. Former Leader, Le Mamea Ropati, and his deputy Asiata Saleimoa Va’ai’s decision not to work together, has resulted in the main Opposition Party, SDUP, not having the numbers to be recognised as an official political party.

Who’s opposition leader? Le Mamea Ropati...

Before earning the dubious distinction of having decimated the Opposition Party in the country, the two politicians led the Opposition in the March general election on a “People First” platform and posted the worst result in the Opposition’s election performance.

Le Mamea’s resignation followed months of denial of tensions within the party until Asiata forced his leadership last September by declaring it was he who had the confidence of the nine-member SDUP and that Le Mamea and others should support his leadership.

Asiata announced his leadership in a media—conference and wrote to the Deputy Speaker—then acting as the Speaker of the House—to accept the leadership change.

However, Le Mamea was at the Speaker’s office shortly after to register his opposition to the changes and that he was not supporting Asiata.

So when New Zealand Opposition Leader Don Brash visited the country in September, a scheduled meeting with his Samoan counterpart was cancelled due to the confusion: no one knew who the Leader of the Opposition was.

When the new parliament was sworn in last May, SDUP had only nine members—one up from the minimum number required for recognition as a party, according to the Standing Orders. When Le Mamea’s resignation was followed by another MP, Sililoto Tolo, the Samoan Parliament was effectively left without an Opposition party.

or Asiata Saleimoa Va’ai?

Speaker Tolofuaivalelei Falemoe confirmed he had received the resignations of Le Mamea and Sililoto Tolo and that they were now  Independent MPs in accordance with the Parliamentary Standing Orders.

Curiously though, Asiata insisted that Le Mamea and Tolo had not resigned from the SDUP, which meant they were still part of the SDUP caucus. And if they did resign from their party, then by-elections were in order.

Asiata’s leadership however, was yet to be confirmed as the party had yet to meet since the resignations.

In fact Le Mamea’s decision to resign was his own and there was no time to discuss the issues between Le Mamea and Asiata in caucus.

Former Speaker and Senior Opposition MP, Aeau Peniamina, expressed disappointment with Le Mamea and Asiata, saying they should have considered the greater interest of the country and the real implications of losing the parliamentary Opposition and creating a one-party state. 

Aeau said Le Mamea did not consult them as members and they did not have a full meeting of the caucus before he stepped down when Asiata would not give in.

But some SDUP members did not seem to agree. Tolo told the media he was exercising his right as an MP and did not care if the Opposition lost the number to be recognised in parliament.

The issue has caused concern in Samoa’s political circles. Speaking to ISLANDS BUSINESS, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said he sincerely hoped the SDUP would be able to sort out its differences and fulfill its democratic role in Parliament in raising the standard of debate and keeping a check on the government of the day.

In a bid to save the situation, Asiata had suggested a legislative amendment of the Standing Orders to lower the minimum number of MPs to form a political party to six, instead of the current eight.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa told reporters that what Asiata wanted was not a simple matter, but a very serious issue.

“The country has gone through those unstable times during Tofilau Eti Alesana’s leadership and we don’t want to go through having four governments in a year as what happened in 1982,” he explained.

Tuilaepa is of the view that having many smaller parties with their own leaders can create an unstable political climate that is counter-productive to the country’s overall development.

He has also suggested that Le Mamea be given more time to lead the Opposition Party and that Asiata should have the patience and political discipline required in party politics.

Reports of Le Mamea’s supporters working to form another political party are highly unlikely. Even if Le Mamea is willing to take the risk of a by-election, he would still be without the requisite numbers to form a viable party.

The situation has further strengthened Tuilaepa’s Human Rights Protection Party  government with a majority of 36 seats.