General elections were held in
Western Samoa on 26 February 1988. Voting was restricted to
Matai and citizens of European origin ("individual voters"), with the Matai electing 45 MPs and Europeans two.[1] Although the
Human Rights Protection Party received more than double the number of votes of the Coalition of the
Christian Democratic Party and the
Va'ai Kolone Group, it won one fewer seat. However, on the day of the election of the Prime Minister by Parliament, one Coalition MP defected to the HRPP, allowing its leader
Tofilau Eti Alesana to be elected Prime Minister.