By Martha Taumata Faavae
There is legally time to call a by-election for the Constituency of Gagaifomauga No. 3 and it will happen as soon as the resigned holder of the Parliamentary seat hands in his official written resignation.
The Gagaifomauga MP La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt, orally tendered his resignation in Parliament on Tuesday.
All that now remains is a signed letter to make it official under the rules of Parliament.
The Electoral Commissioner Faimalomatumua Mathew Lemisio and the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Tiatia Graeme Tualaulelei, confirmed the pending chain reaction.
“We have as yet to receive an official letter from the MP,” said Legislative Assembly Clerk Tiatia when asked by Newsline Samoa.
The by-election process starts with official confirmation from the Speaker of the House to the Office of the Electoral Commissioner.
Under the Constitution, no by-election maybe held six months away from the general elections which in this case is still about 9 months away.
The Speaker of the House will officially issue a warrant to confirm the resignation of a member. Once that is in place it will then trigger the Office of the Electoral Commissioner to make official arrangements for a date to be set for a by-election.
The Electoral Commissioner Faimalomatumua is unable to comment for now until he receives the official warrant of resignation from the Speaker.
Parliament went into a storming session at the start of the week when the House Ethics Committee recommended the Gagaifomauga No. 3 MP La’aulialemalietoa be reprimanded or suspended for three months without pay and allowance.
A Committee investigation found the MP guilty of false claims in the recent debate on the national budget that a 200kva generator Government bought for $300,000 tala was extravagant.
The generator was for the new Tanumalala Prison and the MP claimed that he bought a similar one for his Constituency at a much cheaper cost.
The Finance Committee investigated the claims and its findings were forwarded to the Ethics Committee.
The recommendation by the Ethics Committee led to a verbal pummeling in a House debate on whether the MP be reprimanded or suspended.
The ordeal for the MP ended unexpectedly when he shocked everyone by announcing his resignation to the Speaker before he walked out while the Prime Minister was on the floor.
The resignation spilled out of the House into public debate on social media where it is still continuing.
The PM defended the lashing of the MP by members as necessary to maintain the integrity of the House.
Opposition MP Olo Vaai rejected the Ethics Committee report and recommendations as too much over an issue that was only a ‘scratch’.