The Member-elect for Safata No.1 Leaana Ronnie Posini has retained his seat, despite an earlier announcement he would resign from office and the constituency will have a by-election.

The withdrawal of the election petition on Monday this week pushes the total number of seats under the Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P.) to 20.

The election petition was filed by the defeated Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (F.A.S.T.) candidate, Afemata Palusalue Fa’apo.

Supreme Court Justice Vui Clarence Nelson and Justice Lesatele Rapi Vaai granted leave of the Court for the withdrawal of the petition and counterpetition for the seat.

Justice Nelson said seven days has elapsed since the publication of the intention to withdraw by the parties and no one has stepped forward to suggest otherwise.

The Court dismissed the electoral challenge on the grounds that the parties have signed a deed of settlement and the withdrawal was also in the best interest of the Safata No. 1 constituency.

Leaana declined to comment when he was approached except to say that he was pleased that the matter has been settled.

In a recent interview with Afemata, he announced that the parties have agreed to withdraw the petition but Leaana will resign, triggering a by-election for the constituency.

He said that if Leaana did not agree to the terms he had put forward then the court proceedings would have gone ahead. 

The former leader of the Tautua Samoa Party who switched his allegiance to the F.A.S.T. party for the 2021 general election, fell 286 votes short in the April election with Leaana collecting 1037 ballots to his 751 votes. 

Afemata and Leaana are old political foes who have competed over the past two elections for the Safata West seat, which has been renamed Safata No.1.

This is the second time Afemata has withdrawn an election petition he’s filed against Leaana. 

Following the 2016 general election, Afemata withdrew his election petition in the interests of peace and harmony for the constituency.

Since the start of the electoral petition the F.A.S.T. party has managed to retain its 26 Members of Parliament, despite 13 of the party’s elected Members being subject to election petitions.

Eight of the election petitions against the F.A.S.T. winning Members were settled and withdrawn while five other electoral challenges were dismissed by the Court.

The H.R.P.P. has lost five seats since the election petitions began, with three of them resigning from office and two others having their seats voided, after they were found guilty of corrupt practices.