At the national level, Samoa elects a
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
. The
Fono or ''Legislative Assembly'' has 51 members elected for a five-year term from 51 electoral constituencies. Prior to 2019, the Legislative Assembly has 49 members, 47 members out of the ''
matai'' (traditional heads of families) six of whom are elected from two-seat constituencies and 35 from single-seat
constituencies
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
, and 2 members by the non-Samoan nationals. The
head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
is elected for a five-year term by the Fono.
The voting age in Samoa is 21.
Samoa has a
two-party system
A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually refe ...
, which means that there are two dominant
political parties.
Latest election
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2021 Samoan by-elections
By-elections
Below is a list of recent by-elections:
See also
*
Electoral calendar
This national electoral calendar for 2022 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2022 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
* 16 January: Se ...
*
Electoral system
An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections ma ...
External links
Elections in SamoaAdam Carr's Election Archive
{{Samoa topics
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...