Appeal court upholds bribery ruling against former Deputy PM

Sāmoa's Court of Appeal has dismissed former Deputy Prime Minister Toelupe Poumulinuku Onesemo's constitutional challenge, upholding the the Supreme Court's decision to void his Falealili I seat after finding him guilty of electoral bribery and clearing the way for a by-election.

In a judgment delivered on Monday, a three-judge panel - Justices Harrison, Asher and O'Regan - rejected Toelupe's bid to have the Supreme Court's 24 March decision quashed as a breach of his constitutional right to a fair trial.

The Supreme Court found Toelupe guilty of electoral bribery after concluding his election agent paid a voter ST$150 (NZ$95) on the eve of polling to influence the vote.

The Supreme Court, sitting as the Electoral Court, must now report to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly - the step that triggers a by-election in the constituency.

Toelupe argued his hearing was unfair on two grounds. The Court rejected both.

The first was that he was denied the right to cross-examine witnesses. Two of them, Malili Nofovaega and his wife, Faamotuletia Seu, could not be found and never appeared, leaving their affidavits to be admitted as hearsay.

A FAST campaign rally in Falealili I in August 2025. The constituency will head back to a by-election after the Court of Appeal upheld the bribery ruling against Toelupe Poumulinuku Onesemo. Photo/FAST Party

The Court found that Toelupe's own counsel had accepted the evidence was reliable, and repeatedly chose not to call any evidence of his own or to cross-examine the one witness who did attend.

The right to a fair trial "does not insulate a party from the consequences of considered litigation choices," the Court said.

The second ground was that the Supreme Court had acted as a prosecutor by refusing to allow the petition to be withdrawn and by summoning witnesses.

Watch a Talamua Media report from March 2026 on the Electoral Court's ruling below.

In its ruling, the Appeal Court held that an electoral petition is not an ordinary trial but an inquiry, with the Electoral Act giving the court broad powers to investigate and a duty to be "guided by the real justice of the case."

It found the Electoral Court was right to refuse the withdrawal after finding there was credible evidence that Toelupe, then Deputy PM, had agreed to pay his rival ST$100,000 (about NZ$63,000) to withdraw the petition. The evidence included an audio recording considered by the court.

More than 50 witnesses were summoned, but only one appeared. The judges said the only “logical inference” from the evidence before the court was an orchestrated attempt to interfere with the court's process. It was "unarguable," they found, that the Supreme Court had acted independently and impartially.

A key question was whether the courts had any power to review an electoral decision at all. Section 121 of the Electoral Act says such decisions are "final and conclusive" and must not "be questioned in any way."

The judges ruled that while section 121 generally prevents challenges to electoral decisions, it cannot override the constitutional right to a fair trial. That means courts may still hear genuine claims that a person's fair trial rights were breached.

Falealili I rivals Toelupe Poumulinuku Onesemo (left) of FAST and the HRPP's Tuiloma Laniselota Lameko (right). The Court of Appeal has upheld the ruling voiding Toelupe's election for bribery, clearing the way for a by-election. Photo/File.

The ruling creates a narrow opening to challenge electoral decisions on fair-trial grounds. But the Court was clear that ordinary mistakes, or weak rights claims raised only to reopen a case, will not be enough. The decision was unanimous. The Court made no order as to costs.

Toelupe won Falealili I under the Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) at the 29 August 2025 election. The result was challenged by Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) candidate Tuiloma Laniselota Lameko in an electoral petition.

Both men later sought to withdraw the petition, but the HRPP intervened and the Electoral Court blocked the withdrawal, ruling the allegations too serious to set aside.

On 24 March, the Electoral Court found Toelupe guilty of electoral bribery and voided his election to Parliament.

He resigned as Deputy Prime Minister on 30 March, pending the outcome of the case.