O le sa’olotoga o manatu ma le fa’aaliga o tāofi e fa’avae ai fo’i le maua ‘āto’atoa o fa’amanuiaga o le tele o isi aiā tatau a tagata soifua. Mo se fa’ata’ita’iga, e mana’omia le sa’olotoga o le fa’aaliga o tāofi i le fa’atinoga o le aiā tatau e ‘auai i le fa’atinoga o matā’upu faitele, e aofia ai le aiā tatau e pālota, o se vaega ‘ogātotonu o pulega fa’atemokarasi, e fa’avae i le finagalo o tagata.76 E tatau ona mafai ona sa’oloto tagata e ātia’e o latou lava manatu, e aunoa ma ni fevesia’iga po le fa’amata’u i ni sāuāga, fa’amālosia, fa’atōsina po o se isi lava itū’āiga taumafaiga e liliu se manatu o se tagata. O le fa’auigaina, e tatau ona puipuia tagata pālota mai so’o se faiga taufa’amata’u pe fa’amālosia e fa’ailoa po o ai o manatu e pālota i ai, po o ai na pālota i ai, ma so’o se isi lava mea e so’ona aiā e leai se māfua’aga tatau, i le fa’agāsologa o le faiga o pālota. Ina ia fa’amautinoa le mauaina ‘āto’atoa o fa’amanuiaga o aiā tatau e ‘auai i matā’upu faitele e aofia ai le aiā tatau e pālota, e mana’omia le sa’oloto o feso’ota’iga i fa’amatalaga ma manatu e uiga i matā’upu tau tagata lautele ma matā’upu tau upufai o mālō, i le vā o tagatānu’u, sui tauvā ma sui ua filifilia. O le fa’auigaina, e sa’oloto le aufa’asalalau ma auala o fa’asalalauga e fa’aali manatu i matā’upu tau tagata lautele e aunoa ma ni tāofiofiga po o ni tapula’a, ina ia mafai ona fa’avae lelei manatu o le atunu’u.77 Na lāgā ni popōlega i le faigā pālota o le 2021 e uiga i le aiā tatau a tagata ta’ito’atasi e ‘auai ma fa’atino a latou aiā tatau e pālota. E aofia i nei popōlega ni fa’atinoga a fono a nu’u na manatu isi e fa’ailoga tagata ma fōliga mai na taumafai e fa’amālosia a latou filifiliga; fa’apea taumafaiga fa’alauiloa e fa’atōsina ai tagata pālota e ala i faiga lē tatau e aofia ai faiga fa’aoloataua.78 Na iai fo’i ni matā’upu na lāgā e fa’apea na aiāina ni tagata pālota e ofisa faipālota.79 O nei popōlega e a’afia ai le aiā tatau a tagata pālota e filifili tagata e mānana’o e avea ma o latou sui i tofiga fa’alemālō. E lē gata i lea, e ‘auai tagatānu’u i le fa’atinoga matā’upu faitele e ala i felafolafoa’iga ma fefa’asoaa’iga ma o latou sui filifilia.80 Na lāgā fo’i popōlega o isi i le leai po o le lē lava o fefa’asoaa’iga a tagatānu’u ma o latou sui filifilia i matā’upu e a’afia ai.81 O le 2000, na fai ai le fa’ai’uga a le Fa’amasinoga Sili i le matā’upu e uiga i le sa’olotoga o le fa’aaliga o tāofi o le ta’ita’i o le itū agai ma lona mafai ona ‘auai i le fa’atinoga o matā’upu faitele ona ua tāofia e le mālō o ia taimi le mafai ona ia fa’aaogāina auala o fa’asalalauga a le Mālō e talanoa atu ai i lona itūmālō, ma tagata uma o Sāmoa, ina ia o latou silafia ona lagona, ma lagona o lana Vaega Fa’aupufai, i matā’upu uma e feso’ota’i ma le soifua manuia ma pulega lelei o le mālō o Sāmoa. 76 UN HRC, CCPR General Comment No. 25: Article 25 (Participation in Public Affairs and the Right to Vote), The Right to Participate in Public Affairs, Voting Rights and the Right of Equal Access to Public Service, 12 July 1996, CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.7, https://www.refworld.org/docid/453883fc22.html. 77 UN HRC, CCPR General Comment No. 25: Article 25, para. 19. 78 Office of the Ombudsman NHRI Samoa, “Citizens right to free and fair elections”, Press Release (1 March 2021), https://ombudsman.gov.ws/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/OMB-PR_-Free-and-Fair-Elections_FINAL.pdf. 79 Mo se fa’ata’ita’iga, taga’i i le tusitusiga a Matai'a Lanuola Tusani-Ah Tong, “Policeman removed after political interference complaint”, Samoa Observer (8 April 2021) https://www.samoaobserver.ws/category/samoa/82125. E fa’apea le tala, na toe ‘ave’ese mai i le Aso Lulu se Leoleo na tofi i le fale palota i Utuali’i ona ua tu’ua’ia i le aiāina o le faiga palota e ala i le fesili po o ai na palota i ai se tagata palota ma fa’apea ona faitio ai i le filifiliga a lea tagata palota. 80 UN HRC, CCPR General Comment No. 25: Article 25, para 8. 81 Fefa’asoaa’iga ma vaega patino (Upolu ma Savai’i. See also Sapeer Mayron, “Samoa needs whistleblower protection: Fiame”, Samoa Observer (17 March 2021). Līpoti o le Tulaga o Aiā Tatau a Tagata Soifua 2021 | 24