Samoa Political System

According to Countryaah.com, with capital city of Apia, Samoa is a country located in Polynesia with total population of 198,425.

Where is Samoa

State and politics

According to the 1962 Constitution, Samoa is a constitutional monarchy. Malietoa Tanumafili II is the lifetime governor unless he is dismissed by Parliament, Fono. He can dissolve this assembly, whose 49 members are elected every five years in general suffrage, but only Mataians – elected clan leaders – are eligible, with the exception of two non-Samoan members. The head of state appoints the prime minister on Fono’s proposal.

Prime Minister (since 1988) Tofilau Eti Alesana heads the Human Rights Protection Party, which in the April 1996 elections occupied 28 seats. The opposition party Samoan National Development Party received 14 seats, and independent candidates 7 seats. Tofilau Eti Alesana was re-elected prime minister, thus becoming the political leader in the Pacific who sat at the top of this post.

Samoa is an alliance-free state but is closely linked to New Zealand. See ABBREVIATIONFINDER for how WSM can stand for Samoa.

Judiciary

The legal system in Samoa consists mainly of imported English law, before independence introduced New Zealand law and local custom regarding right to land. Supreme courts are the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. A special court, the Land and Titles Court, is examining questions about the right to land.

The death penalty was abolished for all crimes in 2004, but was considered abolished already when the country became independent in 1962.

Samoa Geopolitics

Samoa is an archipelago of nine volcanic islands, two of which, Savai’i and Upolu, lie in the heart of the South Pacific Ocean. Samoa was the first country in the region to gain independence from the occupying state, New Zealand, in 1962, thus allowing the Samoans to rule themselves under the Malietoa Tanumafili II monarch. Since then, Samoa’s political scene has stood out for its stability and substantial institutional continuity. The most significant changes occurred in 1990, with the introduction of universal suffrage for parliamentary elections; in 2007, when, with the death of the sovereign Malietoa Tanumafili II, the country assumed a de facto republican institutional structure, as the president is directly elected, even if the Constitution does not speak of a republican form; in the end, in June 2013 with the constitutional amendment in favor of the establishment of pink quotas in parliament. The Constitution in force provides that legislative power is exercised by the Fono, the unicameral Assembly made up of 49 deputies elected every five years. The head of state, Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi since 2007, has powers similar to those of a constitutional monarch and holds office for five years. The government, on the other hand, is made up of 12 ministers chosen by the prime minister. The current premier is Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, leader of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP). In office since 1998, he is supported by a parliamentary majority of 36 deputies. The largest opposition party, Tautua Samoa, won 13 seats in the last elections in March 2011. Tuilaepa’s tendency to accumulate ministerial offices, not least that of minister for relations with the parliament, obtained in September 2012 (this is the eighth portfolio against him), is creating the risk of an authoritarian drift. Despite this, the greatest political-social power is exercised by the Matai, the village leaders. Considered true fathers of families, they exercise their authority over the resident population in the rural area of ​​competence. The residents, 90% Christian and strongly anchored to local traditions, belong to the Polynesian ethnic group and constitute the second largest group in the world after the Maori.

The state economy, despite being among the most prosperous in the insular Pacific area, is not in good condition, especially after the devastation caused by the violent tsunami of 2009 and by cyclone Evan in 2013. The national GDP, in 2015 equal at 867 million dollars, this year recorded growth of 2.6%, mainly driven by the tertiary sector (62.9%), which includes tourism (recovering from 2010) and banking services. The most important source of income, however, is constituted by financing and foreign aid provided by donor countries and by the main international financial institutions. The cash flows from foreign remittances of Samoan workers (they contribute 18% of GDP, 158 million dollars in 2015), residing mainly in the USA, are also decisive. in American Samoa and New Zealand. The country is a member of the United Nations and is engaged regionally through the Pacific Islands Forum and the Pacific Island Trade Agreement (Picta), which aims to create a common market based on the free movement of goods. and freight.