Description of Electoral System

(Courtesy of Wikipedia)

American Samoa elects on territorial level the governor and a legislature. The governor is elected for a four year term by the people. The Legislature or Fono has two chambers. The House of Representatives has 18 members, elected for a two year term, 17 in single-seat constituencies and 1 by a public meeting on Swain Island. The Senate has 18 members, elected for a four year term by and from the chiefs of the islands.

 
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Politics of American Samoa

(courtesy of wikipedia)

Politics of American Samoa takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic dependency, whereby the Governor is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. American Samoa is an unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior. Its constitution was ratified 1966 and came into effect 1967. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the legislature. The party system is a copy of the United States party system. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Most Recent Election

(courtesy of wikipedia)

On November 4, 2008, general elections were held in American Samoa. No candidate running for Governor received more than 50% of the vote. Therefore a runoff election between the top two candidates was held on November 18, 2008, where the incumbent Governor Togiola Tulafono emerged as the winner.

In the elections to the American Samoa House of Representatives, there were 54 candidates vying for the 20 elected seats. All seats in the House were up for election.