Up to 300 prisoners who are currently serving imprisonment terms at Tanumalala Prison cannot vote says the Electoral Commissioner, Tuiafelolo John Stanley.

This number includes both men and women who are now considered convicts.

Tuiafelo said this, however, does not apply to those who are currently remanded in custody awaiting their court cases.

Tuiafelolo said voting officials will go to Tanumalala Prison and those in remand will be given a chance to vote, if they have registered.

"It's the ones that are actually convicted and are currently serving time in prisons who are not eligible to vote," Tuiafelolo said.

Tuiafelolo was asked about the human rights of these prisoners who are not able to vote. 

He said, "It's correct that everyone has a right to vote, but we also need to consider what the law says about people convicted of any offence."

According to the Samoa Prisons and Corrections Act 2013, prisoners serving a sentence on election day cannot vote because they are considered ineligible to vote under the law. While incarcerated individuals in Samoa are denied the opportunity to participate in elections, this is not a blanket prohibition and depends on whether they are serving their sentence on election day.  

The inability to vote is not for all prisoners; an individual who has served their sentence and is no longer incarcerated on election day is still eligible to vote.