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The second half of 1996 to the first half of I997 was dominated by issues relating to the by-elections following the general elections in April 1996, the ongoing court cases between the chief auditor and controller of finance and the government, the dispute between Vaiusu village and the government over land previously under the control of the Western Samoa Trust Estate Corporation (aSTEC), the passport scandal, and the country's change of name from Western Samoa to Samoa.
The results of the general elections in April I996 saw the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) winning 24 seats, the opposition Samoa National Development Party (SNDP) ii seats, the Samoa Labour Party (SLP) I, and 13 independents. By the time of the first session of Parliament to elect a new government, at least 5 of the independents had joined the HRPP (Faugagana, 14 May 1996). Of the 49 seats in Parliament, the HRPP now occupied z9, ensuring it another five years in office. Independents joined the HRPP for various reasons, including personal reasons: "been enticed by possible portfolio and other positions" (Faugagana, 14 May 1996); some had stood as independents because of an HRPP policy that the sitting members of Parliament were the party's official nomination. However, considering that at least twelve electoral petitions had been filed by both the opposition candidates and the HRPP, the party's grip on power was by no means secure.
Four HRPP members retained their seats when petitions against them were later withdrawn (Savali, 7 July I996). Decisions to withdraw electoral petitions followed customary meetings between candidates and their supporters, and between them and rival candidates and their respective supporters. In one meeting, a high-ranking matai (Samoan titleholder) who supported the election-night winner convinced a candidate who had filed the petition to withdraw it by pointing out in a traditional speech that the petitioner and the election-night winner were blood relations. He proved his point by reciting the genealogies of the two candidates, which went back several generations. The occasion became so emotional that the petitioner was in tears during the recitation of genealogies. Presentations of gifts (such as fine mats, cash, and food) by the election winners always follow such meetings.
Election-night winners who either did not initiate customary meetings, or did...