The gap in the votes cast for Manuleleua Paletasala Utuvale and Salausa Dr. John Ah Ching for the Faleata No. 1 seat totalled 27 on Tuesday after the special votes were included.
The unofficial preliminary results places Manuleleua first and Salausa second.
Manuleleua of Vaimoso who is flying the Fa’atuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi (F.A.S.T.) banner pocketed 24 votes from the special votes.
During provisional counts from last week he received 1181 ballots making him the unofficial winner with a total of 1205 votes.
Salausa of the Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P.) scored 48 votes from a total of 125 special votes closing the gap with his rival but still not enough to shake off Manuleleua.
Salausa, a former Associate Minister for the Ministry of Women Community and Social Development (M.W.C.S.D.) got 1130 votes from last Friday’s election and in total collected 1,178 ballots.
He is well known in American Samoa having wished as a gynecologist at the LBJ Hospital for nearly 20 years. He was also very active in the Marist St Joseph’s Old Boys Association, which hosts the monthly prayer services for Toa o Samoa.
Salausa who was elected in 2016 was the Associate Minister for Health before a reshuffle in 2019 where he was moved with the Minister of Health, Leao Dr. Tuitama Leao to serve the remainder of the term with the Ministry of Women.
The other candidates for the constituency of Faleata No. 1 include H.R.P.P. candidates; Leapai Richard Brown, Lepou Petelo II and Manuleleua Ioane Manuleleua.
Manuleleua Paletasala was the sole F.A.S.T. candidate that contested the seat and managed to shrug off his opponents.
The unofficial count still leaves the two parties F.A.S.T. and Human Rights Protection Party locked with 25 seats each.
The last seat that makes up 51 constituencies in total is Gagaemauga No. 1 that was won by lawyer Tuala Iosefo Ponifasio.
