first-past-the-post voting system. Candidates were also required to have reached the age of 21 and have resided in Samoa for at least three years before the nomination date. In 2009, parliament amended the electoral act to include the monotoga law, a requirement for individuals to dedicate service to their respective villages to qualify as candidates. Under the monotoga law, a requirement for parliamentary hopefuls to qualify as candidates was for their village mayors to approve their nomination. Voters Universal suffrage was introduced in 1991, permitting all Samoan citizens over the age of 21 to vote in person. Voting registration usually closes six months before a general election and re-opens immediately after. Voters could elect to enrol in a constituency rather than the one where they reside by right of significant family ties or matai titles. As a result, the population of constituencies and the constituency's voter roll have not always correlated. Voters residing in Apia that were registered to vote in constituencies outside the capital but were unable to travel to their electoral districts on election day were permitted to cast a special vote at designated polling stations. Eastern Samoans Before the election, the electoral commissioner of American Samoa announced that American Samoans who cast ballots in elections held in the Independent State of Samoa would subsequently be ineligible to vote in their own country. Under United States electoral laws, voters can lose their right to vote if they cast a ballot in another country's election. Schedule Prime Minister Tuila‘epa announced the election date on 5 October 2010. The 14th Parliament was dissolved on 27 January 2011, while candidates could register from 18 to 25 February. The campaign season ended on 3 March, and the mandatory removal of campaign material from public areas occurred. Election Day and the day prior were declared public holidays by the government to allow voters to travel to their electoral districts if need be. The return of the writ occurred on 21 March. Parties and candidates A total of 159 candidates competed in the election, and two parties contested; the ruling HRPP, led by prime minister Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi, and the TSP, led by Va'ai Papu Vailupe. Of the HRPP candidates nominated, 79 contested, while there were 40 TSP and Independent candidates each. Seven contenders were women, down from 19 in the 2006 election. As four constituencies consisted solely of HRPP candidates, while two had