The FAST Party in Samoa has filed an application with the Supreme Court to have it recognise an impromptu swearing-in ceremony of elected members of the new political party.
At the beginning of last week the court ruled the ceremony illegal as the Head of State was not present.
But it said Parliament must sit by this Monday or it could reconsider the previous swearing conducted in a tent in the parliament grounds after newly elected members were locked out of Parliament.
At the time the Fast Party leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa described the open air ceremony on May 24 as a legal option, applying the principle of necessity, because all other avenues were blocked.
On Sunday night the Head of State went on television to defy the court ruling and push the convening of Parliament out by another month.
On Monday, the rival Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) wrote to police to lay a complaint over the impromptu swearing in, saying they wanted it investigated as a potentially criminal event.
The police commander, Fuiavailili Egon Keil, has set up an investigating committee.
Chief Justice branded ‘incompetent’
The HRPP has labelled Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese as incompetent in an official complaint.
The complaint allegedly follows recent decisions by the Supreme Court where some acts of gift giving have been allowed as being culturally accepted.
The Samoa Observer reports the complaint was made in a letter from HRPP secretary Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi to the Judicial Services Commission.
It said the Chief Justice appears to be incompetent in the handling of HRPP cases since the beginning of electoral petitions.
The letter added that his rulings did not appear to be in accordance with the law, basic legal principles and well established precedent.
It said Satiu was unlikely to be familiar with the express exclusion of fa’asamoa and giving money during the elections to voters.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
APR editor | Radio Free (2021-07-07T20:00:54+00:00) FAST to ask Samoa judges to recognise impromptu swearing in. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2021/07/07/fast-to-ask-samoa-judges-to-recognise-impromptu-swearing-in/
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