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Samoa's first female leader locked out of swearing-in ceremony

Posted: Tue May 25, 2021 6:29 pm
by brwn
https://thehill.com/policy/internationa ... iGI312uX10


Samoa's first female leader locked out of swearing-in ceremony



Opponents of Samoa’s first elected female prime minister locked the doors of the statehouse to prevent her from taking office in what she characterized as a “bloodless coup."

The Washington Post reports that Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and her followers erected a tent on the statehouse lawn where she took her oath of office.


Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, refuses to cede power.
The election tie appeared to have been broken when the sole independent lawmaker went with Mata’afa, but the ruling Human Rights Protection (HRP) Party, which Malielegaoi leads, appointed another HRP lawmaker who restored the tie.

A new election was announced. However, Mata’afa’s FAST Party successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to annul the last-minute appointment, resulting in her victory.



Mata’afa's rise to power would have international implications as she has pledged to stop a planned $100 million Chinese wharf from being built in Samoa.

The wharf was part of the reason why she left the HRP. Although she has expressed a desire to maintain relationships with Beijing, she took issue with adding to Samoa's $150 million debt to China.



Fiame Naomi Mata’afa Appears in Henry Kissinger’s emails. Kissinger is the same person who seated and collaborated with Jack Sellers on the maricopa county Arizona election board Which is also in the Wikileaks emails. Trump fired Kissinger because of his ties to election fraud .

https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1975 ... nxPOAItnoI

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