Samoa
Legislative Assembly
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Political system
Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
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Parliamentary system
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Structure of parliament
Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
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Unicameral
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IPU membership
Current membership status
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Yes
About parliament
Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.
- Parliament name
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Fono (Legislative Assembly)
- Chamber name
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Fono (Legislative Assembly)
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Structure & status of parliament
This field is to indicate lower/upper in the back end.
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Lower chamber
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Parliamentary term (years)
Length of the parliamentary term in years
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5
IPU membership
- Affiliation periods
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from 2000
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IPU Geopolitical Group/s
IPU Geopolitical Groups: African Group, Arab Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Eurasia Group, Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), Twelve Plus Group.
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Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker
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Official title
The Speaker may for example be known as the Presiding Officer, President, Chairman/Chairperson, etc.
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Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
- Speaker
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Papali’i Li’o Oloipola Taeu Masipau (Male)
Date of birth: 1953 -
Term
Start (and end) of the term of the Speaker
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24 May 2021
- Additional information
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Sworn in on 24 May 2021.
Speaker terms
Click for historical data
Secretary general
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Official title
This post is most commonly called Secretary General or Clerk. It may also be called Secretary, Head/Chief of the Secretariat, Director General, etc.
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Clerk
- Secretary General
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Satama Leatisa Uitime Tala (Male)
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Term
Start (and end) of the term of the Secretary general
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20 Oct 2021
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Notes
Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
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Appointed on 20 Oct. 2021.
Members
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Statutory number of members
Statutory number of members, as defined in the constitution or other fundamental law.
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51
Notes: The 2013 Act requires that women members of the Legislative Assembly shall consist of a minimum of 10% of the Legislative Assembly (presently, five).
- Principal mode of designation of members
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Directly elected
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Directly elected members
Directly elected by citizens.
View field in the data dictionary -
51
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Current number of members
Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
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54
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Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
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47
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Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
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7
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Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
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13.0%
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Population (in thousands)
Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects.
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216
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Inhabitants per parliamentarian
Calculated by dividing the population by the statutory number of parliamentarians.
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4,235
Age
Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.
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Average age of all members
Average age of members, for which data is available, at the time of the last election or renewal.
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No information available
Number of members, by age
| 18 - 20 | 21 - 30 | 31 - 40 | 41 - 45 | 46 - 50 | 51 - 60 | 61 - 70 | 71 - 80 | 81 - 90 | 91 and over | Totals per gender | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | No information available | ||||||||||
| Female | |||||||||||
| Total <= 45: - | Total >= 46: - | ||||||||||
| Age at the last election or renewal | Overall | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | |
| - | - | - | |
| - | - | - |
Reserved seats and quotas
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There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Reserved seats are a means to ensure the parliamentary representation of certain groups in society.
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Yes
- Women
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5
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Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote gender-balanced representation in parliament
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Yes
Notes: Women shall constitute a minimum of 10% of the Members of the Legislative Assembly. This provision will apply to the parliament to be elected in 2016. (Source: https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas )
Sources: Constitution Amendment Act No. 17 of 2013 – An Act to amend the Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa to provide for a minimum number of women members of parliament and to exclude officers and employees of the Attorney General from the Public Service; Constitution, article 44 as amended by the Constitution Amendment Act 2013.
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Youth quota
Quotas to promote the representation of youth in parliament.
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No
Links to additional information
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Parliamentary website
Link(s) to parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local languages.
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List of members
Link(s) to list of members on the parliamentary web site.
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Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Link(s) to Rules of procedure on the parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local language.
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No information available
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Constitution
Official links to the Constitution in English, French and/or original language is provided. Links to unofficial translations where no other source is available.
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