Sāmoa snap election: No results just yet - Electoral commissioner

Preliminary election results are still trickling in for Samoa's snap election.

Samoa's electoral commissioner Toleafoa Tuiafelolo Alexander Stanley told the media the official count kicks off Monday then next Friday is when official results are expected.

The election, described as the most unpredictable in Samoa's history, had no clear favourite going in given the governing party had split in two factions, leading to the collapse of caretaker Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa's minority government.

Unofficial results showed Fiame's former FAST Party in the lead and HRPP not far behind as of Friday night. Fiame's newly established SUP Party was trailing behind both.

Electoral Commissioner's update

Results will only be made official when the head of state issues the writ. Prepolling and special votes will be counted Saturday.

Voter turnout was not able to be determined as of Friday night. There were more than 100,000 eligible voters expected to take part in election 2025.

Toleafoa said counting is done manually.

A mini server has been used to resolve issues that cropped up in the last election.

"O Le fa'aogaga o Le channel, ma Le mea lea e Ta'u o Le Mac box it's really a mini server o Le solution lea ga fai lea e sao ai faafikauli lea ga Kupu I Le paloka 2021 e le'i iai se Mac box, faamoemoe ā I numbers foi ga le, ga faamoemoe I le kalagoa ai," Toleafoa told the media late Friday night.

Preliminary election results are still trickling in for Samoa's 2025 snap election. Photo/RNZ/Mark Papalii

His words have been translated: "The use of the channel and this thing called Mac box it's really mini server for the solution from what happened in 2021 there was no Mac box we relied on numbers manually to communicate".

"No one can vote twice for example if someone voted in one constituency and then went to another the service would pick it up and flag it. That is why it will take a week (next week) to fully count," Toleafoa said.

Voting is compulsory in Samoa and the Electoral Commission has said people in line at close of polling were allowed to vote.

However, they had warned anyone registered to vote who did not cast their ballot would face penalties.

This story was first published in RNZ.