'Bloodless coup': Samoa's first female leader locked out of her own swearing-in ceremony
The first woman elected prime minister of Samoa showed up for her swearing-in ceremony on Monday to find her opponents had locked the doors to prevent her from taking office. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and her followers pitched a tent on the statehouse lawn, where she took the oath of office instead.
The bizarre scenes capped six weeks of election turmoil that escalated into a constitutional crisis over the weekend as Mata’afa’s fierce rival refused to cede power. “This is an illegal takeover of government,” Mata’afa said Sunday of the efforts to keep her from office.
The drama in the Pacific nation of 200,000 could have broader geopolitical ramifications. Mata’afa has pledged to stop a $100 million port development backed by China, which has been expanding its regional influence.
Monday marked the deadline for the new parliament to be seated. But on Saturday night, head of state Tuimaleali’ifano Va’aleto’a Sualauvi II canceled the seating without explanation, Radio New Zealand reported. When the Supreme Court overruled him on Sunday, the house speaker — another Malielegaoi ally — postponed the opening of parliament.
A few hours later, Samoans found themselves faced with two prime ministers when Mata’afa was sworn in during an ad hoc outdoor ceremony.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/samoa-crisis-leader-locked-out/2021/05/24/b6cc6ee2-bc3b-11eb-922a-c40c9774bc48_story.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
...MAGA big lie bullshit is going international.
Nice to see the US leading again... 
It's the other guy who staged the coup and locked her out of the office.
