Grace Tinetali-Fiavaai

Polling stations shut at 3pm local time (2pm NZT) on Friday, with preliminary results expected at the weekend and official results due from Monday.

Voting has commenced in Samoa, with more than 100,000 eligible voters heading to the polls today to decide the country's next government.

There are 101,981 registered voters for the 2025 general election.

Around 1700 people are expected to cast their votes ahead of Friday's polling day. Audio

Samoan voters will head to the polls in a national election on Friday, with no clear favourite. Audio

As Samoa prepares for its elections on 29 August, we look back at the nation's prime ministers and the legacies they have left behind.

Samoans will head to the polls on 29 August, with 50 seats being contested on polling day.

There are former Pasifika candidates and new faces putting their names forward for this year's Auckland local government election in Aotearoa.

At this year's Junior Olympics in Georgia, Bentley Satele placed top eight in his division officially earning the title of All-American. Audio

"It should be there ready for them to access without feeling whakaama about having to ask for it," one woman said. Audio

The brutal pastime-turned-phenomenon is dividing communities, doctors and athletes.

Bislama is the national language of Vanuatu and a creole language spoken across Vanuatu's 83 islands which is a blend of English, French, and Indigenous words. Audio

He was a the legendary artist known for blending soul, R&B, and island harmonies that redefined Pacific music. Audio

As campaigning ramps for the next month's polls, Samoans are being promised free public healthcare, cash payments for families, job creation schemes, and major infrastructure investments.

This year marks five years since the celebration of the language began.

Tauinaola Timuiaiala, who lives and works on a farm in Marlborough with his wife children, said the flooding reminded him of the deadly tsunami in Samoa in 2009. Audio

With less than nine weeks left until Samoa's early election, several senior public servants are throwing their hats in the ring.

"Just feels like we've been cornered and given no choice." Audio

Samoans living abroad must complete their full voter registration by 4 July.

A community engagement staffer at a New Zealand bank says the company's Pasifika uniform raises awareness "of our many Pasifika cultures".

This declaration follows the Samoan government's failure to pass its budget, which led to the prime minister advising the Head of State to dissolve parliament.

"I didn't want the children to miss out on the richness of the values."

Former Black Ferns sevens player Shirray Kaka says one of the reasons she is learning Samoan to pass on her heritage to her baby boy.

The year 2025 was only days old when Samoa's political system hit turbulence.

Samoa's parliament was formally dissolved on 3 June.