Samoa’s PM-elect Barred From Parliament, Unable to Take Office
Voice of America
The small Pacific island nation of Samoa was thrown into a constitutional crisis Monday after Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi refused to leave office despite his party losing last month’s parliamentary election.
Prime Minister Tuilaepa’s party was narrowly defeated by the opposition party led by Fiame Naomi Mata’afa. Fiame showed up at parliament Monday to form a new government, but she and her supporters were locked out of the building. The Supreme Court over the weekend ordered Parliament to be in session Monday so Fiame could be seated, but head of state Tuimalealiifano Va'aletoa Sualauvi II cancelled the session.A Swiss flag is pictured in front of the Burgenstock Resort where the Summit on Peace in Ukraine will take place June 15 and 16, in Lucerne, Switzerland, May 28, 2024. FILE - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at a press conference in Beijing, May 30, 2024. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy listens to a question during a press conference after the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, June 2, 2024.
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