Former Finance Minister in the Fiame Naomi Mataafa government, Lautimuia Afoa Uelese Vaai, looks set to head back into parliament after a landslide victory in the Vaimauga No.3 by-election preliminary count Thursday.
After the initial count of the 11 polling booths, Lautimuia polled 1694 votes, Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party candidate Taioaliiseu Fiti Aimaasu had 949, Human Rights Protection Party’s Tuumaalii Fomai Sapolu had 532, while independent candidate Puulatamai Filemoni Filemoni had 438 votes.
FAST Party’s Taioaliiseu had caused the by-election after choosing to resign from HRPP and join the ruling party.
The final count will include the close to 100 people who voted in pre-polling on Wednesday.
With only a 100 votes from pre-polling it’s unlikely the preliminary results would change.
The FAST Party had hoped to secure the Vaimauga No.3 seat to have a two-thirds majority in parliament.
This majority would have allowed the government to make changes to laws, including the Constitution.
UPDATE: According to the official count completed on Saturday, Lautimuia received 1,802 votes, Taioliiseu secured 996 votes, Tuumaalii received 573 votes and Puulatamai Filemoni Filemoni polled 474 votes.
