General elections were held in Samoa on 2 March 2001 to determine the composition of the 13th Parliament. Prime minister Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi led the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) into the election. Opposition leader and former prime minister and future head of state, Tui Ātua Tupua Tamasese Efi led the Samoan National Development Party (SNDP) into the election. The HRPP won 23 seats, but initially fell short of a majority. The SNDP won 13 seats, the Samoan United People's Party secured one seat and the remaining 12 were won by independents. Following the election, all 12 independents joined the HRPP, giving the party a majority in parliament and allowing Tuila'epa to remain prime minister.
Background
During the previous general election held in 1996, the Human Rights Protection Party won the most seats but fell short of a majority. The opposition Samoan National Development Party won 11 seats; the Samoa Liberal party secured a single seat, and independents won the remaining seats. The incumbent HRPP government remained in power due to the support of 10 independent MPs.
The HRPP government altered the constitution in 1997 to change the position of chief auditor from life tenure until age 60 to a term of three years. The ruling party also made alterations so that removing the chief auditor required only a simple majority vote in the legislative assembly, as opposed to a two-thirds majority as had been the case prior. This action occurred after chief auditor Su'a Rimoni Ah Chong exposed widespread corruption within the HRPP government in 1994, resulting in his suspension and eventual dismissal the following year.
Tofilau's government changed the country’s name from 'Western Samoa' to 'Samoa' in 1997. The change sparked controversy and drew criticism, particularly from individuals in American Samoa. They argued that the modification threatened their identity and continued referring to the Independent State of Samoa as 'Western Samoa'.
Prior to the election, in 1998 prime minister and HRPP leader Tofilau Eti Alesana resigned due to ill health. Tofilau was succeeded by deputy prime minister Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi, and died the following year.
Electoral system
During the time of the 2001 election, Samoa's parliament, the legislative assembly, was composed of 49 seats, with each member serving a five year term. Thirty-five members were elected from single-member constituencies, six constituencies elected two members, whilst the other two were elected through individual voters, mostly non-ethnic Samoans and individuals with partial Samoan ancestry. Candidates were elected using the First-past-the-post voting system. Only Matai (Chiefs) were permitted to contest any of the 47 constituencies, whilst the other two seats were open to all individuals. The controversial Electoral Amendment act, which came into effect in 2000, required candidates to have resided in Samoa for at least three years to qualify as a candidate. Previously, the requirement was 12 months. Civil servants were not allowed to run.
Voters
The government introduced Universal suffrage in 1991, granting Samoan citizens aged 21 and older the right to vote. Voters could elect to enrol in a constituency rather than the one where they reside by right of significant family ties or matai titles. As a result, the population of constituencies and the constituency's voter roll have not always correlated. Cabinet amended the 1963 electoral act in August 2000, establishing the register of voters as a separate entity from the legislative assembly. The 2001 election was the first in which it was compulsory for all eligible individuals to register to vote. The new register of voters commenced the enrollment of electors in October 2000. There were only two registration centres where individuals could enrol or update their details, with one each at Mulinu'u on Upolu and Savai’i. Due to the centres being severely understaffed, the process was reportedly chaotic, with long queues, and many voters waited for several hours. One person died while in line, and several fights broke out due to discontent over the process. As a result, health minister Misa Telefoni Retzlaff unsuccessfully called for the election's postponement. At the closure of voter registration on 19 January 2001, a total of 92,788 voters were registered.