[3] Ale joined the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party shortly after the announcement of the by-election and had one opponent, independent candidate Ulu Bismarck Crawley.

Ale won in a landslide, earning 66% of the vote, which, in addition to FAST victories in two simultaneous by-elections in the Siʻumu and Vaʻa-o-Fonoti constituencies, gave the governing party a two-thirds parliamentary majority.

With the support of many of his constituents, Ale, alongside Tuʻuʻu Anasiʻi Leota, resigned from the HRPP to become independents in November 2022, adding that Tuila‘epa had become a "damaging factor" for the party.

However, the HRPP passed a law shortly before the 2021 general election, requiring members of parliament to contest by-elections should they leave their party during a parliamentary term.

When they refused to vacate their seats as ordered by parliamentary Speaker Papaliʻi Liʻo Taeu Masipau, he pursued legal action against the trio.

[8][9] The other candidate, former chief executive officer of the ministry of natural resources and environment, Ulu Bismarck Crawley, who ran under the HRPP banner in 2021, filed to contest as an independent.