The power crisis had done its work in diverting attention from the political crisis that is still gripping the nation. The blackouts turned the people away from the political situation to the infrastructure issues currently faced.

However, next month, parliament will resume again, and top of the agenda will be the national budget. The voting on the budget will also provide an opportunity for either the opposition or the Laauli Leuatea Schmidt-led FAST to overthrow the prime minister. The failure of the budget to be passed means a dissolution of the parliament. However, even in this scenario, the Constitution favours Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa, who will have to advise the Head of State on the dissolution, and she and her cabinet can continue as the caretaker government for 90 days until a general election is called.

This is a scenario all politicians are hoping to avoid. If this happens, then it would be a scurry to finalise candidates, get the campaign on track, and hope that there was enough time to ‘persuade’ people to vote. The electoral registration is also halfway done. Just last week, it was revealed that more than half the people on the 2021 electoral roll are yet to register. This does not sound good. The Office of the Electoral Commissioner has been working on overdrive, even taking registration down to the people to get everyone registered.

If a snap election does happen, it will be very interesting. While some people are tired of the political fiasco, there remains a set of loyal supporters who are backing their chosen politician despite the black marks. Then we have the new candidates, some of whom have already started campaigning and splashing the money needed to garner support.

While all this happens, the nation also awaits a national budget to set the direction for the government ministries and move the various projects that would be dependent on the allocations announced in the budget. Hopefully, this time around, the budget will look at ways to improve the lives of people by decreasing import taxes on food items and lowering food costs and bringing down the cost of living. We will just have to wait and see what the finance minister will pull out of the hat this time.

But, even before we can head to parliament, there are two court cases that need to be dealt with. One being the case by the opposition questioning the Speaker’s ability to vote on a constitutional amendment, and the other seeking to recuse the Speaker. Both these scenarios are a result of the vague and ambiguous nature of the way the laws are included in the Constitution and the Standing Orders. Once again, we are seeing the effect of what happens when the laws are not black and white. The grey areas within our laws need to be cleared.

With all of these happening before the start of the parliament, it goes to show that there is more to expect when parliament does convene. What is known is that there are pending laws that need to be passed, and above all, the budget for the next financial year. The budget will dictate the work of the government ministries.

If the budget is passed, next up will be another constitutional amendment and the electoral law changes. One thing is for sure, Laauli’s FAST faction will support the changes in the law because, according to Laauli, this is something they had promised the people.

And while politicians are playing their chess games, it is the people who are feeling the weight of the indecisions and calculated moves that seem to only benefit the population.

Whether we head to elections sooner or on time, people need to ask themselves why they are voting.