This reminds me of that scene in Revenge of the Sith where Mace Windu was about to dice Emperor Palpatine before that dweeb cut off his hand (Jedis always lose power when their hands are cut off). Emperor Palpatine then used the power of the dark side to emit lightning (irony alert) to steal Mace Windus powers while chanting, "Unlimited Power!!!"

The rebellion now waits for a new hope that a Han Solo and a Chewbacca would bring to restore balance to the force.

May the force be with you.

Ia o le a koe oso foi i constituencies e fai aku le RHD e kapa se finagalo o le atunuu ae faamaaa? O a kaimi e kapa ai le finagalo o itumalo ae o a kaimi e le amanaia ai? Sili pe a kuu ua kiga maka

I burst out with laughter when I saw this as I have been following Stui and his actions for a long time now...This is really funny because Stui is a very good gambler....Just see how he is gambling with Samoan overseas and people residing in Samoa at the moment and you can hardly noticed..During the last election he stopped the Samoan people who are living abroad from voting during the election saying that people who live in NZ and Australia, their is no need for them to make decisions for the people who are living in Samoa...Later on during the RHD bill he said, he had just spoken to lots of people in NZ and Australia and they want this bill to be passed so that they can send more vechicles to their families back here despite constituencies opposing the switch....this means the people overseas have definitely make this decision for the poor people back home...Now he wants a bielection under the house standing orders for this newly formed party and instruct the speaker of the house that each of these independents should go back to their constituencies for re-election the same constituencies he ignored during the oppose march and the debating of the RHD bill...He is now gambling for the Land bill to be passed because he knows many people overseas will be opposing this bill..........se malo King Tui

Tatau na tou faafetai i le palemia pe afai o le afai lea laasaga. O tulaga faaletulafono foi lea ae o lea ua le faatali le alii palemia se ia oo i le 2011 i le isi faigapalota ae o lea e foliga mai o le a tatala atu le avanoa i le taimi nei e toe fai ai le isi filifiliga faigapalota faaitumalo mo sui ia ua faamaamulu mai i le malo ona o le RHD,pe afai ua iai ni finagalo o le a latou faatasi atu ise pati e latou te agaia le faigamalo o loo iai nei. Aua e le mafai ona avea i latou ma sui o se isi pati ona na filifili mai i latou i le faigapalota ua mavae ona sa tauva mai i latou i le HRPP.O lea la ua faamaamulu mai la latou mai le HRPP o lona uiga e tatau ona avea ma sui taitoatasi se ia oo i le isi faigapalota ona sue lea ose isi pati e avea ai i latou ma sui tauva.
Ae ose tulaga o le a faapopolegia ai nei sui ua faamaamulu aua e le iloa pe toe tutu mai pe leai.

faamolemole lava samoalivenews sei toe faasao atu lava la'u comment mulimuli lea faatoa faasalalau ai lea.

Seems like others in the HRPP party will likely jump ship to the newly formed party. And its funny now the PM is now talking about constituencies..where was his constituencies concerns when people were in chaos over the RHD. Did he ever seek constituencies' views????? lol

Well, whatever his next step, if this new party continue on for the next election, it will be a force to reckon with...no doubt about that.
So, make the most of the last few years you have Stu'i. Your days are numbered

E manaia foi le tulaga lea ua finagalo iai le alii palemia sei tatou vaavaai ai pe moni le au lagolago lea o le pass pe emo ane foi ua toe tutu mai foi nisi sui o le HRPP, ona aua loa lea tatou toe pisapisa soo i le malo ma lana RHD.

who is Tuilaepa? who does he answer to?
we have had enough of this man's bully tactics
secure the country and throw the HRRP out NOW!

Some of you people have got the wrong end of the stick.

The "go back to your constituencies and go through a bi-election if you want to have your new party recognised in parliament" rule has been a standing order since Tofilau Alesana's government in the 1990s. It is not a new thing. It has been around for nearly 20 years. The original aim was to stop MPs party-hopping from one party to another before their terms were up. This is what happened a lot in the 1980s. Vaai Kolone's govt was famously brought down by such party-hopping MPs in 1985.

Perhaps what Stui was trying to suggest is that if the new party is serious about "gaining the confidence of the people", then why not go through the proper process and go to bi-elections. What is the point of only sitting in parliament as a group of independents, whilst saying you're a "party" outside parliament? After all, wouldn't this be the best time to do it? According to the news media, the HRPP popularity is at rock-bottom and they might well struggle to get re-elected in 2011.

In answer to Faipopo - during the RHD debate, there was no need for the HRPP members to go back to their constituencies for a bi-election. They weren't forming a new party. The HRPP has been recognised as a party in parliament since its original members were first voted in back in 1982.

Tui and HRPP have changed the laws(Just before the last General election) so that before any general election, candidates running must either declare their being 'Independent' or join any the Political party, Being independent gives any candidate the choice to join any political party at anytime before or after the election. ( remember there were HRPP-affiliated independent candidates before the last election, that if when successful, would join the HRPP, but in the case of those Independent not affiliated with HRPP before the election are still independent as HRPP cannot take them) However, those who have already joined a political party before the general election CANNOT change their political party (Like those in HRPP NOW) anytime they wish, DOING so would mean they would be required under the Standing orders (TUI was refering to) to hold bi-elections....... To me was a fabrication by HRPP to gain the upper hand in current political wriggling and of course to HOLD ON TO POWER... NOW you see the light!!! and you say Samoa is very democratic.... about almost 30years or HRPP in power has enabled them to bend the laws and regulations to suit their needs and agenda..

GC... I could not have said it better!! Happy reading people

Laters

...I just want to clarify one issue here..JM is right about the HRPP weren't not forming a new party BUT..The HRPP did not go back to their constituencies during the RHD debate even though some of the villages who oppose the bill are HRPP constituencies...like Laulii who is represented by Tuisuga...Faleula who is represented by Solamalemalo Keneti Sio..Apia who is represented by Anauli Pofitu and Patu...the individual voters who is represented by Niko Lee Hang and so on....All these villages have made it clear in the media about their stand during the RHD debate....Did HRPP went back there and sought their views, I don't think so...and now Stui is coming up with this new issue and tell the house that all independents should go back to their constituencies to seek their views on their new stand in parliament...Well most of these constituencies have oppose the RHD bill....It is funny and good luck to the newly formed party...Malo Stui le gamble.. Its all about the Land bill now..

Can you do the comments section a favor please?

Go stand in front of a mirror before you post any reply and ask, "is my reply even 50% relevant??"

Nearly all the comments were about the irony of the PM calling for the voice of the people to be heard when it suited him, and there you are once again, introducing an unnecessary and useless point no one really addressed or cared about.

Put away your selective harry potter glasses and dig into the real meat thats on the table.

Hello Faipopo, I think we're getting mixed up.

1. Perhaps the HRPP should have consulted with their constituencies and sought their views on the subject of RHD, but there is no standing order saying that they should do this. Many of them might well have consulted with their constituencies, who knows?

2. If the new party wants to be recognised in parliament, then yes, they have an obligation under standing orders to seek re-election in their constituencies. End of story.

3. GC, I sought to explain the history of this standing order because there was an implication in some of the posts that the evil PM had made up this standing order on the spot to try and unsettle the new party. It is not ironic. I could clearly see the difference between an MP consulting with his constituency as opposed to an MP seeking election. He said "seek the views" but what was meant was obviously "bi-election".

Well, see the wide opinion of Forming and Declaring are miles apart from Officially Consenting to Rules.

The implication, is all in your mind JM.

As is the irony in your mind GC.

I just love the headline here. PM "threatens" bi-election on new polical party. HAHAHA Whoever at Newsline thought up that headline obviously doesn't know what he / she is talking about.

The PM cannot "threaten" a bi-election because he has no power in law to do so. It is completely out of his hands. Anything to do with standing orders is the speaker's domain. Even then, the only "threaten" that the speaker can do is to not recognise the new party in parliament. It is totally up to the MPs themselves if they want to go to a bi-election. If the MP wants a bi-election, that MP will resign his seat and send a letter to the clerk of the House and then to the speaker and the process will happen whereby a bi-election will be held in his/her constituency.

When it comes to standing orders, the PM is just another MP in the House.

How about the five (out of 8- all time high) independent candidates who joined the HRPP after the election. Bi-elections? is the standing orders fair? should switching party allegiance forbidden for all candidates ( including independents)? if party allegiance pre-election had any importance/influence on people's vote, what would be the benefit of voting for an independent .......Plus; seeking the constituencies on view is a great idea.. but should be fair, isnt it?...need I say more.......... ill now let you dissect that piece of info......

...I just hope everyone knows how Stui is gambling with our minds for his own personal agendas and one day in the future it will be too late for all of us to do anything while Stuis vessel sails through....keep a close watch on how he manouvre his vessel for the Land bill and the Water bill now table in parliament...I pray that history will not repeat itself..

I think the government clearly want to stop villages getting in the way of development projects re: water and land bills. For example, the village of Sili obstinately refusing to allow that hydropower scheme in Savaii, which would've benefited the whole Alataua / Satupaitea / Palauli region with greater efficiency in water supply.

However, I can see the dangers in the land bills. To revert to the palagi system of land sale (ie: one proprietor on the certificate of title - Torrens System) is a surefire way to alienate that land for all the family members who are related to the matai title which is attached to that piece of land. In the Fa'aSamoa the matai is never EVER a proprietory owner of land. He or she is merely a trustee of that land on behalf of the aiga potopoto because the title attaches to the land and family not the person. If the family decide to sack the matai, the land doesn't go with him/her. Therefore, to change the land sale system to one where ONE PERSON can alienate that land indefinitely is completely against the traditional Samoan system of land ownership.

However, Faipopo, Stui can only pass these laws if he has the support of all the other MPs in his party (and any other MP who supports the bill). The Prime Minister only has one vote in parliament. Same as everyone else in parliament. That is why is only a "Prime" Minister - "First among equals". Perhaps he is acting too presidential and going on his own but that is only perception. He is the public face of the govt and the leader of the govt, but he still only has one vote.