Vaimauga 3 to vote for third time since 2025 General Election

Voters in the Vaimauga No. 3 constituency will return to the polls for a third time in less than a year after the Electoral Court voided the 1 May 2026 by-election and disqualified both candidates for corrupt electoral practices.

The ruling means the constituency will once again elect a Member of Parliament after the Court declared the recent by-election invalid, leaving the seat vacant pending another poll.

The series of events began at the 29 August 2025 General Election, when Tai’olali’iseu Fiti Aima’asu, standing for the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), won the Vaimauga No. 3 seat.

On 10 March 2026, Tai’olali’iseu resigned from Parliament after leaving HRPP to join the FAST Party. Under Samoa’s anti-party hopping provisions, the resignation triggered a by-election.

The by-election was held on 1 May 2026, with Lautimu’ia Uelese Va’ai elected and returning to Parliament.

Following the result, both candidates filed election petitions against one another, alleging bribery and other corrupt electoral practices.

In its decision on 29 June 2026, the Electoral Court found both candidates guilty of corrupt electoral practices, voided the by-election result and disqualified both from contesting the forthcoming by-election.

The Electoral Commissioner is now expected to set a date for another by-election.

The latest development means Vaimauga No. 3 voters will have gone to the polls three times since the 2025 General Election—first at the general election, followed by the May 2026 by-election, and now a second by-election.

The repeated elections have also meant the constituency has not had continuous parliamentary representation throughout the current term, while taxpayers will once again fund the administration of another by-election (stimated SAT $500,000–$1 million for the two by-elections combined).

IMAGE/ATA: Parliament of Samoa