A rare Supreme Court Sunday sitting in Samoa has cleared the way for the Pacific island nation to hold a parliamentary session expected to confirm its first change of government in almost four decades.
The court overturned a late Saturday night announcement by head of state Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi that cancelled Monday's historic parliamentary session without explanation.
His decision was challenged by the opposition FAST party, whose leader Fiame Naomi Mata'afa has the numbers to be installed as Samoa's first female prime minister.
Following a meeting in chambers with FAST and the ruling Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese declared the head of state's announcement was "unlawful".
It is believed to be the first time a court has convened in the religious nation on a Sunday, when almost all activities are closed.
FAST lawyer and former attorney-general Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu told reporters the court issued an interim declaration that stopping parliament going ahead was unlawful.
There was also a permanent declaration that a court order last week disallowing an HRPP bid to prevent the opposition from taking power, was "valid and is lawful", she said.
"Those were basically the two orders. Our clients are prepared to address anything else that might come up, and continue to rely on God's grace."
A court registrar told reporters that Attorney General Savalenoa Mareva Betham-Annandale "walked out" of the chambers meeting after being told several times by the chief justice to sit down.
Should parliament open on Monday it will end weeks of political uncertainty in Samoa since the 9 April general election, which ended with FAST and the HRPP locked at 25 seats each with one independent in the 51-seat parliament.
When the independent sided with FAST, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi - who has held the top job for 22 years - boosted his numbers by adding an extra MP to his party under provisions setting out the minimum quota of women in parliament.
He then persuaded Mr Sualauvi to call a second election for 21 May.
The courts overturned both measures and a panel of appeal judges on Friday rejected HRPP's bid for a stay on the rulings.
Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi poses for a photo in Dublin, Ireland, in 2019. Source: NurPhoto
Mr Malielegaoi has insisted the HRPP still has the numbers to lead the nation of 220,000.
Ms Mata'afa said before the chambers sitting that the legal rulings needed to be followed.
"The refusal to accept defeat has moved from obstruction and defiance by the caretaker prime minister... to a complete disregard for the law," she said.
"I have every expectation Monday will dawn a new day in our history."
Samoa gained independence in 1962 after nearly 50 years as a New Zealand protectorate and the HRPP has been in power since 1982, apart from a brief coalition period in 1986-87.
FAST leader Ms Mata'afa is the daughter of the independent nation's first prime minister and is seen as a pioneering feminist in the conservative, staunchly religious nation.
She was previously with the HRPP and served as Mr Malielegaoi's deputy until they fell out last year over a suite of controversial laws introduced by the government to control the judiciary.
She said last week that the HRPP had begun to abuse its power after so long in office and it was time to make Samoa a functioning democracy again.
"I think what people are saying is we haven't had a participatory government for a long time and they would like to be more engaged in the process of governance," she told TVNZ.
She has previously been critical of Beijing's policies in the region and has called into question a major Chinese port project in the island nation.
China's foreign ministry on Thursday defended the project, saying it was would "promote the development of the local economy and create jobs".
