Politics of American Samoa
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Politics of American Samoatakes place in a framework of apresidentialrepresentative democraticdependency,whereby thegovernoris the head of government, and of apluriformmulti-party system.American Samoais an unincorporated andunorganized territoryof theUnited States,administered by theOffice of Insular Affairs,U.S. Department of the Interior.Itsconstitutionwas ratified in 1966 and came into effect in 1967.Executive poweris discharged by the governor and thelieutenant governor.Legislative poweris vested in the two chambers of the legislature. The party system is based on the United States party system. Thejudiciaryis independent of the executive and the legislature.
There is also the traditional village politics of theSamoan Islands,thefa'amataiand thefaʻa Sāmoa,which continues in American Samoa and in independent Samoa, and which interacts across these current boundaries. Thefaʻa Sāmoais the language and customs, and thefa'amataithe protocols of thefono(council) and the chiefly system. Thefa'amataiand thefonotake place at all levels of the Samoan body politic, from the family, to the village, to the region, to national matters. Thematai(chiefs) are elected by consensus within thefonoof the extended family and village(s) concerned. Themataiand thefono(which is itself made ofmatai) decide on distribution of family exchanges and tenancy of communal lands. The majority of lands in American Samoa and independentSamoaare communal. Amataican represent a small family group or a great extended family that reaches across islands, and to both American Samoa and independent Samoa.
Government
[edit]Thegovernment of American Samoais defined under theConstitution of American Samoa.As anunincorporated territory,theRatification Act of 1929vested all civil, judicial, and military powers in the president, who in turn delegated authority to thesecretary of the interiorinExecutive Order10264.The secretary promulgated the Constitution of American Samoa which was approved by a constitutional convention of the people of American Samoa and a majority of the voters of American Samoa voting at the 1966 election, and came into effect in 1967.[1]
Thegovernor of American Samoais the head of government and along with thelieutenant governor of American Samoais elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms.[2]
The legislative power is vested in theAmerican Samoa Fono,which hastwo chambers.TheHouse of Representativeshas 21 members serving two-year terms, being 20 representatives popularly elected from various districts and one non-voting delegate fromSwains Islandelected in a public meeting. TheSenatehas 18 members, elected for four-year terms by and from thechiefs of the islands.[1]
Thejudiciary of American Samoais composed of theHigh Court of American Samoa,aDistrict Court,and village courts.[3]The High Court is led by achief justiceand anassociate justice,appointed by the secretary of the interior.[4]Other judges are appointed by the governor upon the recommendation of the chief justice and confirmed by the Senate.[5][6]
Elections
[edit]International organization participation
[edit]- United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific(associate)
- Interpol(subbureau)
- International Olympic Committee
- Pacific Community
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abRevised Constitution of American Samoa,American Samoa Bar Association.
- ^4.0105 Term of office,Annotated Code of American Samoa, American Samoa Bar Association.
- ^3.0101 Vesting of judicial power,Annotated Code of American Samoa, American Samoa Bar Association.
- ^3.1001 Chief and Associate Justices-Appointment,Annotated Code of American Samoa, American Samoa Bar Association.
- ^3.1010 District court judges-Term,Annotated Code of American Samoa, American Samoa Bar Association.
- ^3.1004 Associate judges-Appointment-Term,Annotated Code of American Samoa, American Samoa Bar Association.