The crisis in Samoa has intensified with the suspension of parliament by the head of state with the news of the elections

The unannounced order comes two days before Parliament vows that Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, the head of the opposition, will be named Samoa’s first female prime minister.

Samoa has plunged into a new political turmoil after the abrupt abolition of its head of state, a parliamentary session that will confirm the first change of government by the Pacific nation in nearly 40 years.

Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II’s order arrived late Saturday in Samoa’s newly elected parliament two days earlier before Fiame Naomi Mata’afa FAST party leader Fiame Naomi Mata’afa was sworn in and named the country’s first female prime minister.

In a brief statement posted on Facebook, Sualauvi said he was canceling parliament “until I inform him and for the reasons I will let him know in due course.”

FAST said it would ask the Supreme Court to rescind the order on Sunday.

The nominated head of state’s decision was the latest twist in the political crisis that erupted in a 25-25 tie between the FAST party and the incumbent Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) in the April 9 general election, with an independent candidate.

The election commissioner intervened, appointing another HRPP candidate to adapt to the constitutional provisions that supposedly set the minimum quota for women in parliament.

The independent candidate, meanwhile, chose to go with FAST, making it 26-26.

It has been 22 years since Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi then convinced Sualauvi to call a May 21 second election.

FAST appealed and the Supreme Court ruled last week against the elected candidate and his intentions for the new election, with Mata’afa’s party regaining a 26-25 majority.

When an appeals jury rejected an offer to stop these HRPP rulings on Friday, Sualauvi called for parliament to convene on Monday to rescind the order on Saturday night.

New Zealand radio said Sualauvi’s latest proclamation raises constitutional issues, saying “parliament should be called 45 days before the election” and that “anyone sitting beyond Monday seems to be violating that”.

On the other hand, Malielegaoi stressed that the HRPP still has the number of leaders of 220,000 nations while Mata’afa said it will challenge the final decision in court.

The daughter of Samoa’s independent prime minister, Mata’afa was formerly a Malielegaoi deputy and split with the government last year after opposing changes to Samoa’s constitution and judicial system.

The 64-year-old said he would “support the rule of law”.