For Samoan taxi driver Muaautasi Kirifi Su'a, life is tough at the moment — and he has a lot of mouths to feed.
"We have six children, but we have 10 grandkids," he tells the ABC.
"Overall that's 18 [including my wife and me]."
Samoans are preparing to vote in crucial national elections on August 29, after its government collapsed amid political infighting.
Muaautasi says ahead of the poll, there's one thing on voters' minds: the cost of living.
In the space of five years, the price of a box of chicken has risen from 35 tala ($20) to more than 85 tala, he says.
And Muaautasi says his children sometimes can't afford milk formula for their own kids.
"I believe this is the experience of families all across the country," he says.
"If they can't afford weekly expenses, especially not being able to afford the right food, their children will get sick and some people won't live long."
While Samoa's cost of living crisis has deepened, its politics has descended into a state of fracture.
Caretaker prime minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa — nicknamed by some the "Iron Lady of the Pacific" — survived two consecutive no-confidence votes earlier this year.
Over months of political turmoil, which erupted as her ruling FAST party splintered, opponents in parliament.
Adding to the sense of instability, Samoa also endured a series of devastating blackouts in 2025.
Music producer Tuala Uili Lafaele says he lost nearly $3,000 of income in a month.
"Some of my friends who own businesses shared similar experiences," he says.
While the government blamed ageing energy infrastructure, the crisis put Fiame's leadership in the spotlight.
But Muaautasi is unmoved by the political dramas playing out in Apia, and just wants politicians to get back to governing.
"My advice for all leaders is to remember the very people who elected you to parliament — we don't want to see a Samoa that fights in parliament exchanging harsh words," he says.
Rivals promise cost-of-living relief to attract voters
It was a bruising defeat in parliament that forced Fiame to call an early election in May.
When her government's budget was voted down 34-16, it became clear that Samoa's first female prime minister had lost her grip on power.
With days left until election day, her two main political rivals are campaigning heavily to replace her.
The first is the 81-year-old leader of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, who was Samoa's prime minister for 22 years.
He's unveiled a series of populist policies, including annual 500 tala payments for every Samoan.
And, in an ambitious play for votes, Tuila'epa has once again pledged to build a bridge between the country's two main islands, separated by 23 kilometres of water.
Many critics deride the project as unrealistic, but the HRPP leader says his government would work with Samoa's development partners to build the bridge.
"There are bridges in China over 40 miles [64 km] … nothing is impossible," he says.
The other contender to lead the country is Fiame's former agriculture minister, La'aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Schmidt.
While he helped install Fiame as prime minister after the last election, their partnership has disintegrated since.
Earlier this year, she asked La'aulialemalietoa to resign from the ministry after he was charged with multiple offences, including harassment using electronic means, defamation and conspiring or attempting to pervert the course of justice.
He denies the allegations and is still fighting them in court.
When he refused to step down, Fiame sacked him and the ruling FAST Party split.
La'aulialemalietoa's supporters installed him as the new leader, voted to expel Fiame from the party, and began trying to replace her as prime minister.
Despite his involvement in Samoa's recent political infighting, La'aulialemalietoa is a popular and charismatic leader with a huge online presence.
His rallies are large and energetic.
Similar to Tuila'epa and the HRPP, he is pushing a range of populist initiatives — including free hospital services, monthly allowances for pregnant women, and cash for low-income families.
The ABC had hoped to ask La'aulialemalietoa how he would fund these promises, but he cancelled a planned interview.
Fiame's re-election bid based on 'responsible' government
Fiame is hoping to see off her rivals once again when voters go to the polls, having formed the Samoa United Party after her split with La'aulialemalietoa's supporters.
Her promises are similarly targeted at the country's cost of living crisis, and include free education and healthcare, the return of traditional land to villages, and pension increases.
She has fended off criticism over her handling of the power-outage crisis and inflation, saying her government's actions have been measured compared to the lavish promises of her opponents.
"I would call it realistic … I think we've proven in a relatively short period of time that we're a responsible government," she says.
Fiame is also promising to remove tariffs and duties from basic food items to ease cost of living pressures for Samoans.
"To be fair, I don't think Samoa is the only country that's experiencing a rise in the cost of living," she says.
The caretaker prime minister is also framing herself as the candidate most committed to the rule of law, mentioning specifically her time as a minister in the longstanding HRPP-led government.
She says its attempts to change land and titles courts through the constitution were overreach, and the reason she resigned from the party in 2020.
Fiame says the rule of law has been a "contentious issue" for both the HRPP and FAST parties.
"When you have the power, the mindset is we can do whatever we like, and that unfettered attitude towards governance is something that I do not condone as a leader," she says.
Legal threats and court cases have become recurring themes in Samoa's politics.
Just recently, Fiame launched legal proceedings against La'aulialemalietoa for repeating disproved conspiracy theories about her at a campaign event.
At least three prominent Samoan bloggers — living in Samoa and overseas — are also facing criminal charges related to their alleged social media activity.
Tuala Saui'a Louise Mataia-Milo, a senior academic from the National University of Samoa, says misinformation is spreading "via social media and often bypassing the usual filters of local context and traditional authority".
"Eighty-one per cent of Samoans have high trust in traditional institutions … family circles, village councils," she says.
"Even robust community filters can sometimes be overwhelmed by the scale of digital misinformation, something that we really must look out for."
Tuala Mataia-Milo says the problem intensified with the contested 2021 election, in which Tuila'epa refused to step down.
"As a nation, we must remain vigilant, check the facts before sharing the news, talk to your family and village and [don't believe] every sensational claim," she says.
'Time for young people to step up'
Samoa is the only Pacific nation to have a quota for women in parliament — and one of only two to have a female leader.
But the gendered attacks on Fiame this year have left some wondering how far Samoa has truly come on gender equality.
Still, for art teacher Moeloto Iliganoa, having a female prime minister has been encouraging.
"I felt very empowered … seeing that, it was such a game changer," she says.
"It's an amazing thing to witness as a Samoan female."
But as a young person, Ms Iliganoa says the country's politics leave a lot to be desired.
"It's pretty sad because the people who are in parliament … they are all people who are literally probably the same age as my grandparents," she says.
"It would also be nice to see some young faces in parliament as well … I think it's time for them to step up."
With just over a week until election day, voters say they are hoping for change.
But many — including Ms Iliganoa — also wish for a return to stability.
"If there is no stable foundation, there is no stable house," she says.
