By Staff Writer
The Friday general election has not made it clear whether the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) or FAST, governs in Samoa over the next 5-years.
Both political parties ended up with 25 seats each in a 51-seat Parliament.
A new Government maybe decided by the vote of Gagaemauga 1 newly elected independent MP Tuala Mr. Iosefo Ponifasio.
No official winning claims have been put through by both political parties as national attention switches to how the independent MP will vote.
Until then the balance of power in Samoa now hangs in limbo to be formally decided when the new Parliament is called to session on a date to be confirmed.
How MP Tuala Ponifasio will vote or be courted by both parties to win his approval, will be closely watched in the coming days by public speculations.
The more immediate attention will concentrate on the official recount that is set to get underway once the preliminary count of the vote is completed.
There are special votes to be counted as well that may be a deciding factor in any changes to the provisional results at the close of polling last Friday.
Election court petitions are also part of an established process that normally follows after the official count is completed.
Court proceedings normally continue even after the new members have been sworn in and in past cases have ended with disqualification of MPs.
The wave of support for FAST to equal the HRPP with the number of candidates to win through must be credited to aggressive election campaigning.
The party’s ability to tap into the social media to also win the backing of the Samoan diaspora in New Zealand, Australia and the US played a key influential role as well.
The HRPP was the popular choice for candidates running in the general elections, with more than a 100 clamouring to be flag bearers for the party.
FAST candidates made up about half the number to join the opposition challenge.
The Tautua Samoa and other smaller parties as well as the independent candidates made up the rest of the field.