Three candidates vying for the Fa'asaleleaga No. 4 seat in the 2021 General Election have officially registered with the Office of the Electoral Commission.

The two aspiring politicians and a current M.P. were among 23 candidates who registered with the O.E.C. when the nomination process opened in Savai’i on Tuesday.

The candidates Tea Peato of Sa'asa'ai, Unasa Tauheia Leva'ai of Si'ufaga, and incumbent MP and Associate Minister for the Ministry of Health, Tofa Li'o Foleni were accompanied by matai from the different villages of the constituency to the Don Bosco Hall, which the O.E.C. is using in Savai’i for nomination.

The Fa'asaleleaga No.4. constituency comprises the villages of Si'ufaga, Lu'ua, Faga, Salimu, Sa'asa'ai and Saipipi.

Current M.P. Tofa first entered the Parliament in 2016 when he defeated former M.P. Tuileutu Alava'a Vo'i. 

Tofa is from the village of Saipipi, which is one of six villages of the constituency, and has registered again to defend his seat next April under the banner of the ruling Human Rights Protection Party [H.R.P.P.].

Tea was a former Opposition Member of Parliament for the same constituency from 1996-2001 and last ran for the seat in the 2006 General Election, when he lost to the late Unasa Mesi Galo.

This time he will run under the banner of the Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi [F.A.S.T.] in the general election next year.

And the third candidate, Unasa, is a businessman as well as a sports administrator and boxer.

He hails from Si'ufaga and was one of the first few candidates who registered with the H.R.P.P. when the party's candidate registration opened in July.

It is possible the number of candidates for the Faasaleleaga No.4. seat could increase before the nomination of candidates closes next week.

For the first time ever, all the election candidates running for constituencies in Savai'i must register in Savai'i.