Samoa's outgoing leader Fiame Naomi Mata'afa reflects on her on her time in office.
Fiame, Samoa's first female prime minister, spoke to RNZ Pacific in Apia after conceding the 2025 election.
She said the result of the polls is part of an ongoing "wave of change" that began four years ago.
She said she remains committed to the principles she has long championed.
"I'm always of the mind that it is what it is in any given situation. I continue to have faith and be hopeful that the country will continue, those of us who are here and now, those being elected, can carry forward the next chapter of the journey."
Laauli Leuatea Schmidt's FAST Party secured 30 seats at the polls - more than twice as many as the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which came in second with 14 seats, and ten times more than Fiame's Samoa Uniting Party (SUP), which won just 3.
The first sitting of the 18th parliament and the swearing in of the country's next prime minister is scheduled for Tuesday.
Fiame said, while she was disappointed that only three Samoa United Party (SUP) candidates were elected, she intends to stay on in politics.
"For sure, I'll be staying in for the next five years. I think it's important.
"The country voted us in. We did our work in the last term. We're committed to seeing some of those developments go forward, and not the least, carrying the message for ensuring the embedding of the rule of law."
