According to the official results released by the electoral commission on Friday, the opposition Fast party triumphed, bagging 30 out of the 50 seats in parliament that were up for grabs.
This tilts the balance in favor of the Fast party’s leader, La’aulialemalietoa Leuateivao Schmidt, who is now poised to be sworn in as the next prime minister.
He will take over from Fiamē, affectionately known as the “Iron Lady of the Pacific,” whose Sup party, however, captured only three seats.
Fiame had ousted La’aulialemalietoa from her cabinet in 2023 over charges including harassment and attempting to obstruct justice. Following her dismissal of him and subsequent legal wrangle, she formed the Sup party and accused him of spreading conspiracy theories during the campaign.
Fiame’s tenure as the first female leader commenced in 2021, following a contentious election outcome that led to legal battles and a government paralysis lasting 45 days. She took the oath of office in a makeshift setup outside parliament after being barred from entering the legislative building.
Her leadership faced additional challenges in April due to an energy crisis, prompting an emergency declaration and inflating public skepticism about her leadership, while also straining an already inflating economy.
The government was dissolved in May after parliament overwhelmingly rejected her proposal for the national budget, a role she had assumed on an acting basis since the government’s dissolution.
Economic woes, notably escalating prices, topped the agendas of voters in this island nation with a population of about 220,000.
As broadcaster Tui Eddie Taualapini stated before the election, “Nobody wants the repetition of what happened in 2021. People just want a government established quickly and to see the budget introduced.”
With Agence France-Presse
