A constitutional referendum was held in Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

 on 12 November 1990. Voters were asked whether they approved of the introduction of universal suffrage

Universal suffrage

Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...

 and a second chamber of Parliament. The first change was approved by 52.6% of voters, but the second opposed by 60.7%. Voter turnout was 74.3% for the first question and 73.7% for the second.

Although universal suffrage was introduced, candidates in elections still had to be part of the Matai

Fa'amatai

Fa'amatai is the chiefly system of Samoa, central to the organization of Samoan society.It is the traditional indigenous form of governance in the Samoa Islands, comprising American Samoa and the Independent State of Samoa...

.

Question One: Universal Suffrage

Choice	Votes	%
For	20,149	52.6
Against	18,141	47.4
Invalid/blank votes	1,844
Total	40,143	100
Source: Nohlen et al.

Question Two: Second chamber of Parliament

Choice	Votes	%
For	14,355	39.3
Against	22,119	60.7
Invalid/blank votes	3,331
Total	39,785	100
Source: Nohlen et al.