Samoa’s first woman leader ousted in election

Wellington: Samoa’s incumbent ruling party will return to power with a new leader at the helm after the first woman prime minister was toppled in elections that followed months of political turmoil.

FAST, the former political party of ousted leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, will remain in the majority when Parliament resumes in the Pacific Island nation on September 16. But the result will usher in a new prime minister following bitter infighting in the party this year.

La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Schmidt, who now leads FAST, is expected to be confirmed as the next prime minister.

Fiame, who led Samoa since 2021, in January sacked La’aulialemalietoa as a cabinet minister after he was charged with criminal offenses. La’aulialemalietoa, also the FAST party chairman, in turn expelled Fiame from FAST altogether.

Her minority government staggered on before collapsing in May when she was unable to pass her budget. That prompted her to seek an election earlier than the vote scheduled for 2026, in which she was forced to run against her own former party.

In August’s vote, Fiame campaigned as the leader of the new Samoa Uniting Party.