Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean is expressing concerns over low voter turnout in the Midterm Election and questions if that had any bearing on the rejection of a majority of the Constitutional amendments in the referendum vote.

And he is suggesting re-submitting for consideration three of the six Constitutional amendments that were not passed in the referendum vote. The three pertain to the development of local government and decreasing the authority of the Secretary of Interior.

They are:

1.         The Governor shall appoint the Chief Justice and Associate Justices subject to confirmation by the Legislature;

2.         The Secretary of Interior shall not have the power to change the decisions of the High Court of American Samoa; and 

3.         The Secretary of Interior shall not have the power to change the Legislature’s override of the Governor’s Veto.

During the Senate session on Wednesday, Tuaolo pointed out a little over 6,000 eligible voters cast their ballots, yet there are 14,000 registered voters in the territory.

“We cannot force people to go vote. It’s evident that this is because there were a lot of unopposed seats in the House of Representatives and Congress, that people didn’t go and vote.

“And the question that comes to mind — is this the result for American Samoa, will [issues] be determined by 6,000 voters?”

According to the official results released by the Election Office this week, 2,300 voted for amendment one, while 4,536 rejected this amendment. The second amendment had 2,743 for, while 4,106 were against. The third amendment was also rejected with 2,573 for it and 4,227 against.

ASG Office of Political Status, Constitution and Federal Relations executive director Tapa’au Dan Aga said these three amendments speak to American Samoa’s relations with the Secretary of Interior.  

“Developing and strengthening local government depends on increasing the authority of the American Samoa Government while decreasing the authority of the Secretary of Interior.

“If the majority vote “Yes”, then we could be looking at changes in our relationship with Interior as far as the courts and the legislature. If the majority vote “No”, then our relationship with Interior remains the same in these areas.

Tuaolo who was the Chairman of the Constitutional Convention Committee, appealed to Senators to consider whether the three amendments in question should be included in a referendum during the General Election in 2024.

“We can resubmit these to referendum again in 2024, and this is an appeal for your consideration,” said Tuaolo.

The other 3 amendments not passed in the referendum and not included for possible reconsideration had to do with increasing faipule representation in the districts of Ituau and Tualauta, restoring five senators to Manu’a, and changing the district Malaeimi is in.

BACKGROUND

During the Constitutional Convention back in August, the three proposed amendments regarding the relationship with the Secretary of Interior were approved by the Constitutional Convention.

Approved unanimously was the Veto Override Amendment removing the authority of the Secretary of Interior to approve or disapprove a bill passed by the Legislature over the Governor’s veto.

The amendment regarding the appointment of the Chief Justice did have mixed reviews but it was eventually approved by way of a vote of 100 yays and 22 nays.

According to the Constitutional Review Committee report, proposed revisions to Article III Section 3 of the Revised Constitution removing the authority of the U.S. Secretary of Interior to appoint the Chief Justice of American Samoa and any Associate Justices would be left to the Governor of American Samoa subject to confirmation by the Fono.

"This amendment also clarifies that the Chief Justice and Associate Justices shall hold their offices during good behavior until resignation, retirement, death, or impeachment."

Senator Soliai Tuipine motioned to approve the authority given to the Governor to approve the Chief Justice as per the request from Secretary of the Interior. However, High Chief Malemo Tausaga who is also Treasurer, voiced his objection, asking whether there are any issues that led to the proposed amendment.

 “The Department of Interior provides $300,000 to pay the salaries for the Chief Justice and the Associate Justice. Also there are three branches of Government, the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary, this amendment will tremble the independency of the Judicial.

“Therefore I reject this proposal,” said Malemo.

Former Police Commissioner and Cabinet Director Le’i Sonny Thompson, also objected and supported the question posed by Malemo on whether there are any issues that prompted this move.

“It’s 122 years since the American Samoa Government was established and over the years it’s evident the Federal Government provides a bulk of funding to assist with the operations of the local Government.

“If we allow this amendment to proceed it will jeopardize the independence of the Judicial and will be politicized again, is there a problem, that led to this proposal?” asked Le’i.

He concluded, “if change has been prompted for the sake of change, then I am against it.”

Retired Associate Judge, High Chief Logoai Siaki also cautioned that Judiciary is an independent arm of Government and it should remain that way.

“The Judiciary should be not involved in any politics.” According to Logoai, the proposed change is unnecessary and he urged delegates to reconsider. He said unless the American Samoa Government is considering being an independent State, then they should proceed with the changes, but for now, leave it the way it is.

Senator Soliai Tuipine said when the issue of American Samoa appointing its own Governor back then came up, our forefathers were cautious.

“At that time, our ancestors did not want a Samoan Governor, but wanted a Palagi Governor, but now, we are now electing our own Samoan Governor.

This was a directive by the Department of Interior and we followed suit, and it is the same issue now. The DOI directed us to appoint our own Chief Justice and this is outlined in a letter the Governor received,” said Soliai.

“This is the only other aspect of the local governance that should be considered — appointing of a Chief Justice by the Governor,” said Soliai.

He asked why are scared to make such appointments. “This was the same concern when the Department of Interior asked us to elect our own Governor, but what now, so [we shouldn’t] be scared to make the necessary changes,” he said.

Senator Alo Paul Stevenson said this issue is quite delicate and this is an opportunity for us to make our choices. “We also want to remove the [veto override] authority accorded to the Department of Interior and now this is our choice, whether we let them continue to appoint for us, or we shall do it on our own?” questioned Alo.

“This is a challenge that we should take on or delay it a little bit, but we have to consider the long term effect,” he said.

Ufagafa Ray Tulafono took the floor and said the appointment made by the Governor will not in anyway jeopardize the independence of the Judiciary.

“The appointment is made by the Governor and will be subject to Legislative approval, but that will not take away its independence as a separate arm of Government. In the past there was reluctance whether we should elect our own Governor and to date, we are still doing that and that is the beauty of self-governance and considering that our Government has been established over 100 years, it is mature enough to make such decisions.

“We are the only territory of America that continues to rely on the Department of Interior to appoint a Chief Justice, yet all other US territories are appointed by their Governments. It is time for change, if not now when?” asked Ufaga.

The same sentiments were supported by former Governor Togiola TA Tulafono, urging the Constitutional Convention not to be scared to make changes in moving forward.