1967 Western Samoan general election

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1967 Western Samoan general election
Flag of Samoa.svg
  1964 25 February 1967 1970  

All 47 seats in the Fono
 First party
 
Party Independents
Last election47 seats
Seats won47
Seat changeSteady2.svg

Prime Minister before election

Fiame Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II
Independent

Subsequent Prime Minister

Fiame Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II
Independent

General elections were held in Western Samoa on 25 February 1967. All candidates ran as independents and voting was restricted to Matai and citizens of European origin ("individual voters"), with the Matai electing 45 MPs and Europeans two. [1] Following the election, Fiame Mata'afa Faumuina Mulinu'u II remained Prime Minister.

Contents

Campaign

A total of 126 candidates contested the 45 Samoan seats, with five running in the individual voter seats. [2]

Although voting was restricted to matais, the ability of traditional chiefs to create new matai led to significant changes in voter demographics in some areas, with the number of matais more than doubling since 1961. In Vaisigano No. 1 constituency, the number of matais increased from 139 in 1965 to over 1,400 by the 1967 elections. Trucks had been sent out to collect people and register them as matai, including many women, who were traditionally rarely made matai. [3] [4]

Results

Sixteen MLAs lost their seats, including Minister of Education Papali'i Poumau. [4] Surprising defeats included Afoafouvale Misimoa in Palauli East and Tufuga Efi in Vaisigano No. 1. [5]

PartyVotes%Seats
Independents7,394100.0047
Total7,394100.0047
Valid votes7,39499.14
Invalid/blank votes640.86
Total ballots cast
Registered voters/turnout8,184
Source: Nohlen et al.

Aftermath

Following the elections, members of the Legislative Assembly elected Magele Ate as Speaker and Tuala Paulo as Deputy Speaker. [4] Fiame Mata'afa was re-elected as Prime Minister, and formed an eight-member cabinet on 17 March, including three new ministers, Luamanuvae Eti, Lesatele Rapi and Tuaopepe Tame. [4]

PositionMinister
Prime Minister Fiame Mata'afa
Minister for Agriculture Laufili Time
Minister for Education Tuaopepe Tame
Minister for Finance Fred Betham
Minister for Health Luamanuvae Eti
Minister of Justice Ulualofaiga Talamaivao
Minister for Land and Land Registry To'omata Lilomaiava Tua
Minister for the Post Office, Radio and Broadcasting Faalavaau Galu
Minister for Works and Transport Lesatele Rapi

See also

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References

  1. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p782 ISBN   0-19-924959-8
  2. W. Samoan election Pacific Islands Monthly, February 1967, p13
  3. Matai—by the truckload Pacific Islands Monthly, March 1967, p20
  4. 1 2 3 4 Mata'afa will lead independent Western Samoa for third term Pacific Islands Monthly, April 1967, p9
  5. Upsets in Western Samoan election Pacific Islands Monthly, March 1967, p11