Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Call to dismiss American Samoa election challenge

Posted at 05:40 on 21 November, 2012 UTC

American Samoa’s chief election officer, Soliai Tuipine Fuimaono, has called for a challenge by unsuccessful candidates Lucia Bartley and Esther Wall over the House of Representatives election in Tuala-uta to be dismissed.

The candidates claim there was fraud when Soliai did not ask one of the two winners in the seat, Vui Florence Saulo, to produce a birth certificate before the poll.

Soliai’s lawyer Gwen Tauiliili-Langkilde filed a motion for dismissal, saying such a challenge needs to made within three business days of the chief election officer certifying who could stand in the poll.

In this case, Soliai issued the list of candidates on September the 2nd and then certified the list on September the 6th after no challenges had been made.