The reason electoral laws are important is because they eventually play a hand in having free and fair elections and there is a need to have more stringent laws when it comes to elections because the right person with the right agenda has to be voted in.

The move by a Parliamentary Committee to seek ways to make it illegal for an election-winning candidate to resign after an opponent files a court petition questioning his or her victory is a good move.

The Standing Orders, Electoral, Petitions and Constitutional Offices Committee made the recommendation in its report after it reviewed the findings of a Commission of Inquiry (COI) into electoral matters arising from the 2021 General Election.

The Committee's recommendation was amongst several key matters that it raised in its report that was approved by the Legislative Assembly last Friday.

If the candidate was indeed honest and found his or her way into the parliament through votes, proper election campaigning and for genuinely wanting to help his voters then he or she should not have any problems when his election victory is taken to court as a result of an election petition.

In reality, if he has done nothing which spells out corruption then such matters would not be taken to court. There have been instances after the 2021 elections when winning candidates resigned as soon as petitions were filed and this led to by-elections.

Following the 2021 General Election, there were three by-elections that were triggered by “settlement in principle”, where the Members of Parliament-elect and their opponents agreed to return to by-elections as part of an agreement leading to the petitioners dropping their cases. At that time the affected territorial constituencies included Sagaga No. 4, Safata No. 2 and Falealupo.

A record 28 petitions were filed with the Supreme Court by unsuccessful candidates following the April 2021 General Election, confirming a close race between the country’s two dominant political parties. A panel of six Supreme Court Justices sat simultaneously for three months to hear the cases as well as deal with matters connected to the constitutional crisis at the time.

This is a waste of taxpayers’ money, the court’s time and the efforts of the Office of the Electoral Commission.

Perhaps this is also the reason why there has been a call from some members of parliament to legislate election spending by candidates. This law could also greatly reduce the number of election petitions that are filed and curbs on practices deemed corrupt.

Electoral laws are part of the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management bodies, election campaign, the division of the territory into electoral zones, the procedures for the registration of voters and candidacies, its financing and propaganda, voting, counting of votes, scrutiny, electoral disputes, electoral observation and all contentious matters derived from them.

It is therefore imperative that Samoa’s legislature looks at the best practices in the world and align them to the Samoan way so there is best practice at home  when it comes to elections.

While we are still in the House, a call has also been made for political representation for people with disabilities.

Salamatua Russel Young Yen, an advocate for people with disabilities believes a person with a disability should represent those in Samoa living with a disability and has called on the Samoa government to consider a quota for the representation of such marginalised groups.

This is something for the House to consider because it has been pointed out more than once that the disparity in employment and educational opportunities for people with disabilities is far greater. Children with disabilities are still staying at home and not getting education and as a result fail to contribute to the economy.

This also means that people with disabilities are often living in poverty. Now with these things considered, the Government or members of parliament can either get equal representation in parliament or work harder.

Better electoral laws will mean better election results and maybe better election candidates. If the changes are necessary to have a more transparent and accountable government, then make those changes.