Apia, Samoa – Samoa elected its first female leader in April, but the former leader is blocking her from assuming office.

Prime Minister-elect Fiame Naomi Mata'afa was expected to meet with the country's parliament within 45 days of the election, as dictated by the Samoan constitution.

Instead, she and her FAST Party supporters gathered in a tent outside the locked government building for her swearing in after the parliamentary sitting was canceled without reason, NPR reported.

The incumbent leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi had been in power for 22 years before the election – one of the longest terms for any current world leader.

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It appears Tuilaepa wants to keep his record running. On Monday, he held a news conference claiming he was still in charge: "There is only one government in Samoa, even if we are just the custodian government. We remain in this role and operate business as usual."

Fiame assured her supporters on Monday, "There will be a time when we will meet again, inside that House. Let us leave it to the law."

Tuilaepa then held a second press conference decrying Fiame's actions as "treason."

The electoral dispute came down to gender quota rules. The original vote was a 25-25 tie between the two major parties, plus one independent candidate. The independent candidate then sided with Fiame's FAST Party.

After the electoral commissioner gave the opposing party an extra candidate due to gender quota requirements, the Supreme Court ruled against the addition, meaning the FAST Party still had a one-up advantage.

If officially recognized, Fiame, daughter of the country's first prime minister after independence, would become the only current female leader of a Pacific island nation.