Photo: RNZI / Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia
It's official: Samoa will be heading to the polls in August.
Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, Samoa's Head of State, has issued the formal writ confirming that elections are set for 29 August this year.
This declaration follows the Samoan government's failure to pass its budget, which led to the prime minister advising the Head of State to dissolve parliament.
The electoral commissioner submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court seeking an extension for the elections, but this request was denied.
Pre-polling will take place on 27 August, with voting day on the 29th, according to Tuimalealiifano's official writ.
As of 5 June, the electoral roll showed 66,333 registered voters, equating to 57 per cent of the 117,225 eligible voters.
The Electoral Commissioner and his team have cleaned up the electoral roll, removing 10,758 voters who had died or were otherwise ineligible from the 2021 list, which originally had 127,983 names.
The deadline for voter registration is now managed by the Electoral Commissioner, who has been awaiting the state announcement from Tuimalealiʻifano.
