Samoa’s first female prime minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, known as the ‘Iron Lady of the Pacific’, has failed to secure re-election after months of political infighting. Official results from the electoral commission show the opposition Fast party won 30 of the 50 contested seats in parliament, making its leader, La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Schmidt, the likely next prime minister.
Fiame’s Sup party won only three seats, a dramatic fall from power. Her tenure was marked by instability, beginning with a 45-day government crisis in 2021 after a knife-edge election. She was eventually sworn in under a marquee outside parliament after being locked out of the chamber.
Schmidt was expelled from Fiame’s cabinet in 2023 after being charged with harassment and attempting to pervert the course of justice, charges he denies. When he refused to resign, she dismissed him. He then ousted her from Fast and became its leader, prompting her to found Sup and launch legal action accusing him of spreading conspiracy theories during the campaign.
Fiame’s leadership faced further pressure in April when widespread blackouts led to a state of emergency, straining an economy already hit by inflation. She was forced to dissolve parliament in May after its overwhelming rejection of her proposed budget.
Rising prices were a key issue for voters in the country of about 220,000 people. Broadcaster Tui Eddie Taualapini said before the election: “Nobody wants the repetition of what happened in 2021. People just want a government to be established quickly and bring in the budget.”
