A former Member of Parliament and businessman, Leiataualesa Taupau Mulipola Oliva, will take on a sitting M.P. and recontest the Aiga-ile-tai seat in the 2021 General Election. 

Despite being a founding member of the Tautua Samoa Party, Leiataualesa will be running under the flag of the Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P.) following a unanimous decision by his constituency.

He will be running against incumbent M.P. Mulipola Leiataua Laki, who is also an H.R.P.P. candidate.

Leiataualesa said should he win the seat, he would propose to halve the constituency which he currently believes is "too large".

"This is the only constituency with islands, which are Manono and Apolima and now Satui ma Lufilufi’ – it's a big roll with maybe over 4000 [voters] now,” he said. 

“[An extra] additional representative is needed.”

Leiataualesa added that prioritising his constituency's health would be one of his main goals in office and said Manono-tai needs a hospital.

"There was a hospital before but was damaged by cyclones, and [there] has since not been a hospital on the island," Leiataua said.

Leiataualesa also said new seawalls needed to be constructed to protect Manono-tai in the face of rising sea levels. 

But the biggest issue on his platform was improving roads for the Aiga-ile-tai constituency, Leiataualesa stated.

"This may be the only constituency with more unpaved roads than sealed roads. And most of the voices from the constituency is that roads are problematic," he said.

The 46-year-old registered to be a candidate of the H.R.P.P. on Wednesday together with his supporters.

During his time in Parliament after winning a seat in 2006, he was the youngest ever politician to have won a seat in Parliament at 32-years-old.

He was a member of Samoan Democratic United Party (S.D.U.P.) at that time.

During his time in Parliament, he was a member of five different Parliamentary Select Committees.

He is currently an Executive Member of the National Council of Christian Churches and the President of the Upolu Samoa West Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Leiataualesa has also been in the media industry. He was the Samoa-based news presenter for the Samoa Multimedia Group, N.Z. Radio Samoa 1583AM for several years. Now, he is a presenter for Voice of Freedom Radio of Melbourne Australia in Samoa.

He was also the General Secretary of the Samoa Amateur Boxing Association; an accredited boxing judge and referee in Samoa’s national league as well as a national team manager.