Apia, Samoa – In a landmark decision on 4th July 2023, Samoa’s Supreme Court nullified the suspensions of the leader and secretary of the opposition Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), declaring the move unconstitutional.
Former Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sai’lele Malielagaoi and Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi had been suspended from the parliament without pay for two years, following a government-instigated decision made through a secret ballot vote in October 2022. The pair had been accused of bringing Parliament into disrepute and had been found guilty of a contempt of court charge instigated by Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and the FAST party.
However, Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese and Justice Leiataualesa Daryl Clarke ruled that the suspension breached Article 44(1) of Samoa’s Constitution, which guarantees the framework for responsible and representative government. The court document states, “We find that the legislative assembly’s suspension of the First and Second applicants for two years breaches article 44(1) of the constitution… and the suspensions are therefore void.”
The court also emphasised the conditions under which a suspension may be enacted. They stated, “Does, this mean that a member can never be suspended? Obviously not, each case turns on its merits. However, suspensions must not deny Parliament of effective representation from electoral constituencies, and or the voice of the people of those electoral constituencies. Such denial is also a denial of the democratic system of representative and responsible government established in the Constitution.”
The suspensions had effectively deprived their respective electorates of a voice in the Parliament, a move the court identified as a breach of the democratic process. The court also indicated the necessity of back pay for the representatives for the period they were unfairly kept out of Parliament.
This is the second time the Supreme Court has stepped in to protect the rights of these politicians; in May 2022, the court overturned their indefinite suspensions from parliament.
These repeated suspensions were related to their contempt of court convictions, stemming from the pair’s refusal to relinquish power after losing the April 2021 General Elections.
Following the court’s decision, Lealailepule commented outside the court, expressing that this ruling was an answer from God and took the opportunity to thank their supporters.
The latest decision will likely have considerable implications for Samoa’s political landscape, emphasising the critical role of judicial independence and checks and balances in maintaining a robust and functioning democracy. It also underscores the importance of rectifying past wrongs through measures such as back pay, further cementing the principles of fairness and justice in the nation’s political processes.