Former opposition party Tautua Samoa will meet on Monday to re-strategise for the upcoming seven by-elections after the party failed to record a single victory in the April general election.

Party secretary Su’a Vivian Leota-Suatele said the party will be discussing a “way forward” on Monday as well as its plans for the by-elections.

“We will see and we have candidates but will confirm after the meeting,” Su’a told the Samoa Observer when asked if the party has plans to merge with the other dominant parties. 

“We are not really with anybody – we are just looking where justice lies.”

Several attempts by this newspaper to get a comment from the party’s President, Afualo Dr. Wood Salele were unsuccessful. 

The 28 post election court challenges concluded last week with seven by-elections triggered as results of Court decisions and settlements between the parties involved due to Members-elect resigning from office. 

The by-elections are likely to take place at the end of September to early October this year.

The recent election was the Tautua Samoa's worst performance, with its candidates suffering a sweeping defeat when it failed to win a single seat in the Legislative Assembly. 

Compared to the 2016 General Election, Tautua managed to retain three representatives in Parliament, although it was short of the eight Members required to be recognised as an official opposition.  

The party fielded 14 candidates in the April general election and struggled to keep up with the Human Rights Protection party and new political powerhouse the Fa’atuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi or F.A.S.T. party.

Despite being defeated in the main election, the party’s President Afualo pushed his luck and filed a post-election challenge against the winner of the Salega No. 1 seat, Fepuleai Faimata Su’a. 

But the court action backfired on Afualo as his F.A.S.T. rival came through the proceedings unscathed without a conviction, while he was found guilty of bribery during the election.

Afualo was one of two unsuccessful members from the party that challenged winning M.Ps from F.A.S.T. in the election petitions.

The other candidate, Tupai Ivala Savaiinaea that petitioned the Minister of Finance, Mulipola Anarosat Ale-Molioo but later dropped the legal action. 

According to the secretary of Tautua Samoa, Afualo remains the party’s President despite his election conviction. 

She said there have been no changes to the party’s executive members. 

In an interview with Afualo following their unsuccessful race in the April election, he said they accepted their defeat and condemned what he described as corrupt practice on polling day. 

“My conscience is clean and I find peace that we didn’t do any of that,” he said. 

The former M.P. alleged that there was a lot of bribery and treating leading up to the election saying it's “worse than before”. 

“I was quite disappointed by it as we are trying to have a clean election or at least minimise corruption but it was the opposite,” Afualo claimed. 

“What really angers me is that it happened to us before [in 2016] we had hoped for change for the better but its change for the worse. 

“Candidates did it knowingly that afterwards they will head to Court and that will be sorted by then while the ultimate goal is to win…”