By Martha Taumata Faavae
The governing Human Rights Protection Party, HRPP, is calling a meeting at party headquarters this Friday, for all its registered candidates of the 2021 General Elections to talk strategy.
The HRPP registration of new candidates started last July and more than 120 have since signed up to run under the Government election banner.
While the numbers as well as the quality of candidates have stood out, having too many running in the same Electoral Constituencies is a risk the party leadership wants to go over with everyone.
“We are calling everyone in at midday on Friday to encourage them to decide who has the better chance of winning and give them their winning support,” Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi highlighted after Tuesday’s registration.
“Too many party candidates running in one electoral constituency could split the vote and give opposition candidates a chance to sneak in the win.”
There are 51 Electoral Constituencies and the HRPP candidates registered so far would easily average 2 to 3 members to run in each constituency.
Upolu, Manono and Apolima share the most number of seats in Parliament of 31 with Savai’i making up the balance of 20 seats.
PM Tuilaepa said a preliminary list of candidates will be decided after Friday but the final run down will be confirmed this month, 20 October 2020.
The final list will be passed on to the Office of the Electoral Commissioner for their information and to help with their registration work.
“There is still time to go over the lineup we have registered already and make the necessary changes to ensure we have the candidates with the best chances of winning in the general elections.”
Candidates, however, will still have to sign up with the Office of the Electoral Commissioner to be officially nominated.
The HRPP leader is secure in the party’s track record of national developments to win the confidence of the voters for another winning run by Government in the 2021 General Elections.
“The success of our national programme of developments has won us the support and the confidence of the voters.
“Our strong leadership and firm decision making has earned us their respect and trust.”
The PM is ready to welcome an opposition party in Parliament but he believes they will always be compared to what Government has achieved with developments and improvements in Samoa.
The HRPP plans to launch its party election manifesto next month in November a few months out from the April 2021 General Elections .
