Samoa's ruling HRPP party will be fielding 116 candidates, 34 of them sitting MPs, in the general election in March.
However, the party leader and Prime Minister, Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, says this number will increase at the closing of nominations in February.
Tuilaepa says only 80 of the candidates will be running under the party name while 36 mostly new candidates have been considered and will run as independents.
It is the first general election in which the HRPP party has more than 100 candidates.
