Uproar in Parliament: Speaker grants Laauli's motion of no confidence green light

By Shalveen Chand 03 March 2025, 10:27AM

Parliament was adjourned Monday morning following an uproar after Speaker Papalii Lio Masipau granted a contentious second motion of no confidence in less than a week.

Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa in her ministerial statement said the executive will withdraw all pending bills before the House until the second motion of confidence is dealt with.

Fiame also expressed her disappointment in the Speaker for granting the second motion after the House decided on the same issue last Tuesday.

She added that this also raised questions on the independence of the Speaker and his handling of Parliament.

Tuilaepa agreed with Fiame saying there was no use continuing debate when there was an unanswered question brought to the Assembly again.

He added the opposition would walk out of Parliament if the Speaker maintained his position to continue debating on bills and then deal with the motion afterwards.

Speaker Papalii had argued there was no reason the executive should withdraw its work in the House saying it should pursue the bills.

He later decided to adjourn parliament early until tomorrow.

By Shalveen Chand 03 March 2025, 10:27AM
Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>