By Staff Writer
Plans for the opening of Parliament at the Tiafau Malae on Monday are on hold after the Head of State suspended an earlier proclamation to do so.
His Highness Tuimaleali’ifano Va’aleto’a Sualauvi II made the new proclamation last night but did not give reasons “until such time” to be made “known in due course.”
The Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, prior to the order by the Head of State, protested the holding of Parliament while the appeal on the 6th seat for a woman MP was pending.
“To hold Parliament while the number of woman MPs are not in order is violation of the Constitution and it would not be fair for us after being sworn in to continue while it is unlawful,” Tuilaepa responded to Newline Samoa on Saturday at Party Headquarters.
He would have preferred the Appeals Court to rule on the Constitutional appeal first before Parliament is called to session.
“What is the point of swearing in a new Government only to be changed again by the ruling of the court and making all the decisions taken by the administration in place illegal?”
The new Head of State proclamation is a blow to the FAST political party plans to be installed as the new Government with its one-seat majority in the 51 seats in the House.
Repeated visits reportedly to pressure the Head of State into calling Parliament appeared to work with the first proclamation.
The urgency was for Parliament to meet before time runs out on the 45 days time period to form a new Government from the date of elections.
A constitutional call by the Head of State to hold fresh general elections to break a 26-seat deadlock was voided by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional last Monday.
So too was the controversial 10 per cent threshold for women MPs the `Supreme Court ruled against on the same day.
A subsequent appeal for a stay of execution on the court ruling was dismissed last `Friday by the 3-member Appeals Court chaired by the Chief Justice Simativa Perese.
The decision for leave to appeal remains to be argued in a hearing on a date the court is yet to be set.
The judiciary has been in a race with the clock since election related matters were brought up following the outcome of the polls.
Next up will be the hearing of 28 election petitions or more than half the seats in Parliament. (see other story)
There are strong speculations that the court hearings are very likely to create more political turbulence all the way to the end of the year.