Fiji edges closer to election
It may come as a surprise that Australia will be leading the observer groups during the upcoming Fiji election on September 17.
Australia has agreed to take up Fiji’s offer on the basis that a co-leader would also be appointed from a ‘growing democracy’, says attorney-general Ayaz Sayed-Khaiyum, who met Australia’s visiting parliamentary secretary to the minister for foreign affairs in Fiji, Senator Brett Mason recently.
The announcement was made following Mr Mason’s visit.
If Australia does take up the role, it will be another major step towards the two countries mending their strained relations.
Australia was one of the staunchest critics of Fiji, since Voreque Bainimarama seized the reins of power from Laisenia Qarase in 2006.
It is clear both Australia and New Zealand have shifted their policies towards positive engagement since the announcement of the election date in Fiji.
New Zealand’s foreign minister, Murry McCully, says their decision to lift travel restrictions is in the best interest of Fijians so that they can contribute freely and more meaningfully to the country’s public discourse.
With the change of heart in Canberra and Wellington, it now appears that Bainimarama’s most vocal critics are within Fiji, with leaders such as Mahendra Chaudhry, Mick Beddoes and Biman Prasad leading the line.
Prasad, a former USP economics professor, recently openly challenged the head of the Fiji government to a public debate on the leader’s record to date, urging him to ‘remove decrees that restrict people’s rights to association and freedom of expression.
‘Our people don’t need pity, they need respect and they need their freedoms,’ he says.
In addition, Mr Chaudhry also tells radio Australia he wants the international community to be ‘vigilant’ in their monitoring of Fiji’s progress, not just glossing over the image being portrayed by Bainimarama.
Together with Methodist clergyman and Citizens Constitutional Forum chief executive, Rev Akuila Yabaki, Bainimarama’s critics are pursuing allegations that the prime minister may have breached the Political Parties Decree, by announcing the name of one of his proposed candidates, when his party is yet to be registered.
It remains to be seen if police will complete an investigation and the claims are tested through the courts.
There are also reports that the opposition will challenge the design of the ballot papers, which will no longer feature candidate names, or party symbols under the Electoral Decree.
Because of these strict provisions, candidates can only have an assigned number, which Prasad says will not help voters make an ‘informed’ choice.
Despite this, there is no doubt that these are exciting times for Fijians once again, with the clouds of uncertainty over their political future unraveling.
As the country edges closer to election, Bainimarama wastes no time in going about painting a positive image of himself domestically and internationally and laying the groundwork for what he firmly believes is good for Fijians.
Beginning last month in search of the mandatory 5001 signatures needed under the Political Parties Decree, Bainimarama has gathered an astonishing 40, 083 signatures, more than what is required before lodging an application early this week to register his proposed Fiji First Party.
Bainimarama also announced the names of the party’s committee members, although the registration process will take 28 days to verify everything, says supervisor of elections and registrar of political parties, Mohammed Saneem.
‘Fiji First’ is a name that reflects Bainimarama’s own aspirations for a completely different Fiji to the one most have come to know.
This would be a party ‘where every Fijian regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, status, colour, gender and creed is considered equal – where every Fijian is put first in relation to our collective progress, success and growth as a nation,’ he says.
So far, four major political parties have been registered. They are the Fiji Labour Party (FLP), National Federation Party (NFP), Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
But in a major blow for the opposition, Fiji’s Labour Party president and former prime minister, Chaudhry has been convicted and fined FJD2 million by the high court of Fiji, after being found guilty of breaching the Exchange Controls Act.
The hefty fine must be paid by June 30, or he faces a 15-month imprisonment term.
Chaudhry’s conviction effectively rules him out as a candidate for the September poll. Dr Steven Ratuva of Auckland University says the conviction gives Bainimarama added advantage.
Ratuva also suggests that with Chaudhry out of the picture, the September election will be a competition between Prasad’s National Federation Party, and Bainimarama’s Fiji First Party, especially in the battle to win the Indo-Fijian votes.
