One of Fiji’s three deputy prime ministers, Viliame Gavoka, has appealed to the country’s prime minister to review his stance on Japan’s disposal of treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka supports Japan’s compliance with safety protocols outlined by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency.

However, Rabuka also spoke about the need for an independent scientific assessment.

He has also signed off on the Melanesian Spearhead Group’s Udaune Declaration on Climate Change, in which his fellow prime ministers of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Oslands and Vanuatu, and spokersperson of FLNKS of New Caledonia, “strongly urged Japan “not to discharge the treated water into the Pacific Ocean until and unless the treated water is incontrovertibly proven scientifically to be safe to do so and seriously consider other options like use in concrete”.

Japan has, however, already begun the release of the treated nuclear wastewater in spite of strong condemnation from the region and across the world.

Gavoka, who is also leader of the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA), further highlighted the concerns of his party’s Youth section which also implored Rabuka to reconsider his position.

The SODELPA leader acknowledged the diversity of opinions within the coalition government and the allowance for conscience votes, underlining the dynamics of political relationships.

SODELPA general-secretary Viliame Takayawa is also concerned, particularly noting the view that Rabuka has taken on the role of a national leader.

He confirmed that the party intends to communicate directly with the prime minister on Tuesday to raise this pressing issue.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Five weeks on from Christmas Eve, I think most of us are still a bit stunned at what has happened in Fiji.

A new government came to power in dramatic circumstances.

It took not one but two Sodelpa management board meetings to change it, with razor-thin margins.

The same drama extended into Parliament.

There was definitely a bump in the road when the military openly expressed concern about the speed of change.

But that was navigated smoothly.

One other thing stood on a razor-thin margin.

Nobody in Fiji should forget it.

‘Rule of law’
A little thing called “rule of law”.

In a Fiji Times column last week, I tried to capture the idea of this.

First, the idea that the law is more important than everyone, including the government.

But second, the idea that the law is more than just rules and regulations which restrict us.

Rule of law means also that the government is bound to respect ordinary people’s rights and freedoms.

That rule of law was seriously at risk under the FijiFirst government.

Things had gotten to the point where, using bullying and fear, unafraid of the courts or any other institution which might restrain it, the FijiFirst government just did what it wanted.

In its last year of power, the only restraint on FijiFirst was the fact that an election was coming.

Turned on opponents
Had it won that election, FijiFirst would have turned its guns on the only opponents it had left — the opposition political parties, the independent news media and the few non-government organisations that continued to criticise it.

Fiji would have fallen firmly into that growing group of countries now called “democratic dictatorships” — places which have elections and the other trappings of democracy, but which in truth severely restrict the democratic rights and freedoms of their people.

Four key officials holding important constitutional positions — the Chief Justice, the Commissioner of Police, the Commissioner of Corrections and the Supervisor of Elections — have been suspended inside of four weeks.

That tells us one of two things.

Either the new government is particularly vengeful.

Or there are complaints against these officials that date back to the FijiFirst party’s time in power and which are only now coming to light.

After all, they’ve hardly had time to offend us under the new government.

And if these are in fact complaints about things which happened long ago, we must ask — why were they not actioned under the FijiFirst government?

No one dared complain
Or was fear of the government so pervasive that no one dared to complain against these officials — and the complaints are only being made now?

We need to know about these complaints.

Yes, each of these officials is innocent until proven otherwise.

But they are public officials, occupying some of the most powerful and critical positions in the country.

The decisions they make concern our most basic rights and freedoms — whether or not we spend a night in a cell, whether (and when) we will get a ruling on our employment dispute, or whether we are able to vote.

So we, the public, have a right to know what they are accused of.

What has changed?

The overwhelming sentiment for most of us — at least those around me — is a new sense of freedom.

Doesn’t change things
For many of us, that does not really change things from day to day.

Not everyone has the compelling urge to air their opinions on everything (in newspaper columns or elsewhere).

But it is simply the fact that if you want to rant about something on Facebook, you’re not worrying about what the government will think.

Most of us, day to day, are not worrying about whether we will be unfairly held for 48 hours in a jail cell.

Yet only two years ago in the covid crisis, the police were doing that to hundreds of people.

We are not worrying about whether we will be arrested for saying something which will “cause public alarm”.

Yet, every time an NGO or opposition political party leader issued a public statement in the last 10 years, this was a constant worry.

But much of the real damage done was at the next level down — the level where ordinary people like us want to get things done.

This week I met a small group of distinguished doctors.

Climate of fear
I heard with some amazement about the climate of fear which predominated in the Ministry of Health.

Criticism was not permitted.

In November last year, the permanent Secretary for Health publicly told politicians to “leave the Health Ministry alone”.

Nobody, he said, should talk about it.

Nobody should “undermine” it — because it was on the cusp of great things.

One senior medical specialist who famously criticised the state of our hospitals in The Fiji Times was immediately banned from entering them.

This was hardly a hardship — he was only volunteering his skills for free.

But what about all the patients who he was looking after?

He recounted to me, with some wonder the bureaucratic memo-writing process that is now being followed to bring him back.

Cash and volunteers
The International Women’s Association has cash and volunteers ready to improve women’s and children’s health at CWM Hospital.

We are talking about basic things, like hot water and decrepit bathrooms.

How do you run hospital wards without hot water?

IWA’s mistake was to make these deficiencies public on social media.

So the Health Ministry stopped talking to IWA.

Only with the change of government is IWA allowed to openly communicate with the Ministry of Health about what it wants to do — instead of whispers to officials on their gmail accounts.

For years, I have marvelled at the stupidity of the edicts issued from Ministry of Education headquarters.

Schools may not fund-raise without permission.

Schools may not invite speakers to their school assemblies without permission.

Schools may not run extracurricular classes for students without their permission.

‘In name of equality’
The policy seems to be “in the name of equality, we must all be equally dumbed down”.

As the Education Ministry pursued the government’s mad obsession with our “secular state”, schools owned by religious bodies cannot choose their own school heads, even if they pay for them and save the government money.

Education and health are critical issues for all of us.

The government can’t deliver everything.

Governments by nature are unwieldy, bureaucratic and slow (sometimes for good reason, because they have to carefully manage public funds and follow other laws).

So people have to get involved.

Get involved

We also have to get involved on a wide swathe of other issues such as poverty, domestic violence, drug abuse, crime and economic opportunities.

Criticism not welcome
These are all things which, for the past 15 years, we were told, the government had under control — like “never before”.

Our input — and certainly our criticism — were not welcome.

Let’s be clear about our new government.

We might be glad that it’s there.

And we should never take for granted the rights and freedoms it has restored to us and the refreshing new attitude it brings after 15 years.

But soon the honeymoon will end, the shine will come off and we will all have to get down to the work (which never ends) of solving our deep social and economic problems.

The expectations on the new government are huge.

Everybody wants every problem to be solved and every complaint to be answered.

We want every crook who has received an unfair benefit to be (as we now always seem to say) “taken to task”.

Same huge debt
The new government has the same huge debt, the same shortage of cash and the same lack of resources the old government did.

It can move some money around and change some priorities — but it can never solve every problem.

But a government that is prepared to tolerate criticism has at least one advantage over one that is not.

It can hear from real people about where the real problems are.

That’s why freedom of expression is not just a nice thing to have.

It’s actually important to tell us what is going on.

This government, like the old one, will gradually become more complacent and unresponsive as it becomes burdened with the ordinary business of administration.

And that is why every democracy — at least every real one — prizes freedom.

Freedom to march
Freedom for people to criticise, to march in the street, to take the government to court, without being punished for it.

These are some of the tools we use to hold the government to account, to remind the politicians that it is about us, not them, and to embarrass the politicians into action.

But just as important is the responsibility on us not just to talk — but also to act.

Our new freedom also means freedom to get involved.

What are the things that are important to us?

Is it health?

Education?

Child poverty?

Prison reform?

Our local environment?

So what will we do?

Don’t take it for granted
We don’t need to be part of some official committee or NGO to fight for the things that are important to us.

We don’t need the government’s permission to hold a public forum to talk about problems and solutions.

After 15 years we need to be able to say to our leaders: “We’re in charge here. This is what we want. You work for us.”

They won’t always listen — but that’s what freedom is.

It was a close-run thing on Christmas Eve — but freedom is what we got.

So let’s not take it for granted.

Let’s use it.

Richard Naidu is a Suva lawyer who is fairly free with his opinions. The views in this article are not necessarily the views of The Fiji Times. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

New Zealand-based Fijian academic Professor Steven Ratuva says that if the coalition government is strong, resilient and lasts, “this will reflect well as a future model for coalitions in Fiji”.

“It’s a learning process for a new government and a new democracy and we expect teething problems in the beginning and hopefully we settle down quickly and move on,” said the director of the University of Canterbury’s Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies.

However, he said that if it collapses, it would “signal a rather dark future of political instability for the country”.

Professor Ratuva said failure would “send out a negative message to investors, tourists and the rest of the world”.

“Thus it is imperative to make sure that the coalition works and for this the politicians need to be politically smart, strategic, humble and empathetic in their dealings and approaches with each other for the sake of the country, beyond the narrow political party agenda,” he said.

Professor Ratuva was referring to recent claims by Sodelpa general secretary Lenaitasi Duru that senior party members were unhappy with the lack of Sodelpa appointees to government statutory boards by the coalition government.

However, Sodelpa leader Viliame Gavoka said the party remained committed to the deal it struck with the People’s Alliance (PA) and National Federation Party (NFP) that resulted in the formation of the coalition Government.

‘Vast majority’ in support
He said the “vast majority” of the Fijian people wanted the coalition government to prevail.

Professor Ratuva said Sodelpa would need to innovatively address its internal issues as a party while ensuring that the coalition government worked for the sake of the country.

“Fiji’s current coalition experiment has great implications for the future of Fiji’s democracy because governments in the foreseeable future under our constitutionally-prescribed proportional representation (PR) system will most likely be in the form of coalitions,” he said.

He said a large number of countries which used the PR system had coalition governments.

“Thus we have to make sure that this coalition works by being strategic and smart about having a watertight agreement between the coalition partners as well as making everyone happy through give and take compromises.

“This is challenging, especially when you still have fractures and differences within Sodelpa, an important partner.

Need for innovation
“Sodelpa will need to innovatively address its internal issues as a party while ensuring that the coalition works for the sake of the country.”

The PR system was introduced by the Bainimarama-led regime which overthrew the democratically elected Laisenia Qarase government in December 2006.

The 51 members of Parliament after the 2014 General Election were elected from a single nationwide constituency by open list proportional representation with an electoral threshold of five percent.

The seats were allocated using the d’Hondt method.

Felix Chaudhary is a Fiji Times journalist. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The highly anticipated 2022 election last month was a very close, emotionally charged and highly controversial affair.

All that is behind us now and it is time to reflect on it critically and learn some important lessons as we welcome the dawn of 2023.

Despite the Supervisor of Elections’ prediction of a low percentage turnout of around the 50s, the actual turnout of 68.29 percent was surprisingly reasonable given the inconvenient December 14 date and other restrictions such as married women being required to change their names to the birth certificate ones, voting restrictions to one polling station and other legislative and logistical issues.

The postal ballot votes had the highest turnout rate of 75.92 per cent and the others in descending order were: Northern Division (73.88 per cent); Eastern Division (69.98 per cent); Western Division (68.82 per cent); and Central Division (65.6 per cent).

Victim of own PR system
This may sound ridiculous but it all came down to 658 voters, the equivalent of 0.14 percent of the votes, which enabled Sodelpa to stay above the 5 percent threshold.

It was this small number of voters who made the difference by giving Sodelpa the ultimate power broker position which enabled the People’s Alliance Party (PA)-National Federation Party (NFP) coalition to edge out the FijiFirst party (FFP) by a very slim margin after hours of horse trading followed by two rounds of voting.

However, this is what the voting calculus is all about — every vote counts and even one vote can make a substantial difference.

This is even more so in our Proportional Representation (PR) system, which was originally meant to encourage small parties to gain votes and be competitive against the dominant ones when it was first conceived in Europe in the early 1900s.

Theoretically, the idea is to shift the centre of power gravity from dominant parties to diverse groups to ensure that representation was more dispersed and democratic.

Thus, most countries with PR systems (there are different variants) have coalition governments.

New Zealand, which has two electoral systems merged into one (Mixed Member Proportional or MMP), consisting of the PR and First-Past-the-Post (FPP), has a history of coalitions since the PR component was introduced.

Other countries with coalition governments
Other countries which use the PR system are Israel, Columbia, Finland, Latvia, Sweden, Nepal and Netherlands, to name a few, and they all have coalition governments.

But why didn’t this coalition electoral outcome happen in Fiji during the first two elections in 2014 and 2018 although these were held under the PR system?

The reason is because the FFP was able to effectively deploy what political scientists refer to as the “coattail effect” — the tactic of using a popular political leader to attract votes.

So in this case, statistics show that there has been a direct correlation between coattail votes for Voreqe Bainimarama, the FFP leader, and the electoral fortunes of the FFP.

For instance, Bainimarama was able to attract 40.79 percent of the total votes during the 2014 election and this enabled FFP to secure around 59.17 percent of the total national votes. Bainimarama’s votes went down to 36.92 percent during the 2018 election and this reduced the FFP voting proportion by 9.12 percent to 50.02 percent.

The decline in Bainimarama’s votes to 29.08 percent during the 2022 election also reduced the FFP’s votes to 42.55 percent, well below the 50 plus 1 mark needed by the party to remain in power.

The total decline of 11.71 percent of Bainimarama’s votes and 16.62 percent of the FFP votes between 2014 and 2022 is a worrying sign and if the trend continues, they may be hitting the 30 percent mark at the time of the 2026 election.

By and large, the swing of votes away from FFP was around 10 percent or so, with a shifting margin of around 3 to 4 percent.

The long Bainimarama coattail has slowly withered away over time.

Before the election I warned in a Fiji Times interview early in 2022 that given the diminishing trend of the FFP electoral support, together with other data, the party would be lucky to survive the 2022 election and thus would need a coalition partner.

I also said that the PA, NFP, Sodelpa and other parties would need to form a national coalition to be able to rule.

The writing was on the wall and it appeared that the FFP was going to be victim of the PR electoral system they introduced in an ironically Frankensteinian way.

“Wasted votes” and weakness of the PR system
The results of the 2022 election shows that the power gravity has shifted significantly and in future we are going to see governments in Fiji formed on the basis of coalitions and thus elections will need to be fought on the basis of party partnership.

This means that smaller parties, which have no hope of getting over the 5 percent threshold will need to make critical assessments and the only survival option is to join bigger parties which have more chances of winning.

Herein lies one of the weaknesses of our version of the PR system where the votes by the smaller parties, which cannot get over the 5 percent threshold, are considered “wasted”.

This is in contrast to the Alternative Voting (AV) system under the 1997 Fiji Constitution, which provided for losing votes to be recycled and used by other parties based on preferential listing. In the 2022 election, 35,755 votes were “wasted”, which equated to 4.81 percent of the total votes.

By Fiji standard, this was a relatively large number indeed.

However, the idea of “wasted votes” is a contentious one because, while from an electoral calculus point of view, these votes may serve no purpose and are deemed useless, from a political rights perspective, the votes represent people’s inalienable moral and democratic rights to make political choices, whatever the outcome, and thus must be respected and not condemned as wasted.

The new era of transformation
The small margin of 29 to 26 seats and indeed the intriguing 28-27 voting in Parliament should be reason for the Coalition government to be on its toes and not be complacent about the sustainability of the three-party partnership.

They must try as much as possible to maintain a united synergy through a win-win power sharing arrangement.

They have started this so far with the co-deputy prime ministership and portfolio sharing and this needs to deepen to other areas so that it is not seen as a marriage of convenience but a genuine attempt at nation building and transformation.

To keep their momentum going and mobilise more support and legitimacy, they need to use the diverse expertise and wide range of professional skills at their disposal to bring about meaningful, consultative, transparent and transformative policy changes for the country.

Part of the process will be to reverse some of the FFP’s fear-mongering, vindictive, controlling and authoritarian style of policymaking and leadership, which have left many victims strewn across our national landscape and which weakened support for the FFP.

While there are still flames of anger and vengeance burning in some people’s hearts as a result of victimisation by the previous regime, it is imperative now to listen to Nelson Mandela’s advice after he was released from jail — allow the mind to rule over emotions and move on with dignity.

We must break the cycle of political vengeance and vindictiveness, which became part of our political culture since 2006 and as prominent lawyers Imrana Jalal and Graham Leung have advised, it is important to ensure that changes are within the law and not driven by destructive emotions, or else we will be following the same path as the previous regime.

These will take a high degree of levelheadedness and moral restraint, qualities already displayed by the coalition leadership so far.

For the FFP, it is time to go back to the drawing board, rethink about their overreliance on coattail approach, re-strategise and reflect on why voters are deserting them.

They will no doubt be sharpening their daggers to get inside the coalition armour and target the weak links and vulnerable spots.

They will try all the tricks in the book to make the coalition partnership as shortlived as possible through destabilisation strategies and vote poaching by winning over an extra Sodelpa vote to add to the single mysterious vote, which went FFP way during the parliamentary vote for the Speaker and PM.

Sodelpa may need to warn the person concerned and if the betrayal does not stop after the next round of parliamentary vote then they may need to invoke Section 63(h) of the Constitution, which specifies that a parliamentarian can lose his or her seat if the person’s vote is “contrary to any direction issued by the political party…”

This will then open the door for Ro Temumu Kepa, who is next on the SODELPA party list, to take the vacant seat and help stabilise the coalition’s parliamentary position a bit more.

Some electoral lessons for the future
The intense political horse-trading, high pressure power manoeuvring and stressful competition for coalition partnership in the hours after the election has taught us a few lessons.

Firstly, political parties should now start thinking about forging partnerships because future elections can only be won through coalition.

PAP and NFP made a great move by getting into a coalition early and this worked out well for them.

The coalition government now has a head start.

Secondly, political parties should learn to be humble, not burn their bridges when they part with their old comrades nor should they feel super and invincible by trying to do things on their own. Old grievances can come back to haunt you if they are not addressed early

Thirdly, small parties need to pay attention to the electoral calculus and engage with parties, which have potential to propel them above the 5 percent threshold or join together as small parties to form larger political groupings before the election.

Fourth, voters will need to be smart and strategic about their votes to ensure that they are not wasted.

These “wasted” votes do make a difference in the end when the results are tallied.

Fifthly, given the need for partnerships, especially when margins are narrow, forging positive relationship and goodwill with other political parties early before elections can be rewarding political capital while vindictiveness and ill will can be destructive and regrettable political liabilities.

There is still time — about 48 months away before the next election.

Steven Ratuva is distinguished professor and pro-vice chancellor Pacific at the University of Canterbury and chair of the International Political Science Association Research Committee on climate security and planetary politics. This article was first published in The Fiji Times and is republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says he is the prime minister for the whole of Fiji and all of its people.

In an interview with Fijivillage News, Rabuka said he would like everybody to have a happy New Year and not worry too much about the changes that they think this new government would bring in.

He said the biggest change was that they could have a “happy new year”.

Rabuka said the legacy of his previous leadership was his ability to work with opposition parties to formulate the 1997 constitution.

He added that this time he would like to continue that effort to work across the floor of Parliament and across the political divide in Fiji.

Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s interview with Fijivillage News.

The multicultural makeup of Fiji’s 903,000 population is about 65 percent iTaukei Fijians, 30 percent Indo-Fijians, and 5 percent “others” including those of other Pacific Islander ethnicities and Europeans.

‘Citizens’ assembly’ plan
FBC News reports that Rabuka announced in his national address that a “citizens’ assembly” would be convened for consultations on a coalition manifesto review.

Rabuka said this would involve Fijians from all walks of life to add to the manifesto and vision statements of the ruling People’s Alliance, National Federation Party, and the Social Democratic Liberal Party (Sodelpa) coalition.

He said the assembly would seek ideas and concepts from delegates to complement the government’s plans for building a better, more prosperous, and happier nation.

Rabuka said the coalition government intended to establish specialist reviews in four key areas:

“The constitution and legal reform, the economy, defence, and national security and a forensic examination of the spending of the FijiFirst government.

“Each review team will include people with expert knowledge. The teams will report to the appropriate cabinet member, Of course, a looming issue is the state of Fiji’s public finances.

“The government debt may be now above $10 billion.”

The citizen’s assembly is part of the coalition government’s plan for the first 100 days.

Promise of ‘united Fiji’
RNZ Pacific reports that Rabuka’s inaugural address to the nation was delivered to the people of Fiji via the state’s social media channels.

Rabuka, the instigator of two military coups in 1987, has assumed the role of head of government for the second time in his political career, after being prime minister between 1992 and 1999.

Fijian voters voted out Voreqe Bainimarama’s FijiFirst after two terms in power, signalling their appetite for change. He was also a coup leader, in 2006.

Rabuka’s message to his fellow citizens was one promising a better and united Fiji for all.

“Our country is experiencing a great and joyful awakening,” he said.

“It gladdens my heart to be a part of it. And I am reminded of the heavy responsibilities I now bear.”

Apart from being prime minister, Rabuka is also responsible for foreign affairs, climate change, environment, civil service, information and public enterprises, and leads a cabinet made up of 19 ministers, as well as 10 assistant ministers.

He accepts that his cabinet is “larger than I initially planned.”

Parliamentarian pay cuts
“Some of you [Fijian people] will be concerned about the cost,” he said.

But he offered his assurance to the people that he would take the necessary actions to cut costs, beginning with cuts to parliamentarians’ paycheques.

“In a democracy, the people are in charge,” Rabuka said.

“Elected representatives like me, and my parliamentary colleagues, do not lord it over you. We are your servants. We are here to listen to your concerns and respect your views.”

In his speech he set out the direction the Rabuka’s People’s Alliance-National Federation Party-Social Democratic Liberal Party coalition government will be headed.

Naveel Krishant is a Fijivillage News reporter. This article drawing on Fijivillage, FBC News and RNZ Pacific is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. 

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

An official communication will be sent to Fiji’s President confirming the new People’s Alliance, National Federation Party and Sodelpa government is ready to lead under the new Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka.

NFP leader Professor Biman Prasad said the leaders were pleased to give Fijians a Christmas present of a strong and united coalition government ready to respond to their call for change.

“People have chosen a new way, a new path, and a new government and we the coalition partners — now the People’s Alliance, the NFP and Sodelpa — promise the people of Fiji that a new era will be starting as the new government takes on the power in this country.”

People’s Alliance leader Sitiveni Rabuka thanked Fijians, saying they had voted for change and the coalition had given them that.

He also thanked outgoing FijiFirst Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and his cabinet for running the affairs of the nation for the past 16 years.

“Losing the election is not the end. I lost in 1999 and I kept trying. I’ve been given the opportunity this time, once in 2018 and again this time and different party. Play your cards right. Lead your team well and work hard.”

Sixteen members of the Sodelpa management board voted in favour of PAP and NFP, while 14 voted for FijiFirst.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

“Merry Christmas Fiji!”

This was the message to Fiji from kingmakers Social Democratic Liberal Party (Sodelpa) management board member and MP Tanya Waqanika after their meeting in Suva ended this evening.

Asked whether her Christmas wishes meant good news for the people of Fiji, she responded: “Free at last.”

Waqanika was one of the 26 management board members who participated in the secret ballot — which voted in favour of a coalition with the People’s Alliance and the National Federation Party, the second time in barely 72 hours that the board backed the coalition.

This vote confirms the end of 16 years of domination of Fiji politics by 2006 coup leader Voreqe Bainimarama — half as the military leader and the rest as an elected FijiFirst party prime minister.

It will usher in a new era with coalition rule and 1987 coup leader and former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka heading the government.

A secret ballot held at the meeting at the Southern Cross Hotel resulted in 13 votes for the PAP-NFP coalition and 12 for the FijiFirst Party.

‘Anomalies’ forced new vote
In Tuesday’s vote, the numbers were 16-14 in favour of the People’s Alliance-led coalition. However the validity of that vote was challenged over claimed “anomalies”.

Party vice-president Anare Jale said the next step now was to work on a coalition agreement.

He said that agreement would detail all the information and work that would be taking place today and during the holidays.

“Hopefully, something will be concluded and signed on Wednesday next week,” Jale said at the press conference after the day-long Sodelpa meeting.

Timoci Vula is a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.

#LATEST Fiji’s kingmaker, Sodelpa has announced it’s joining Sitiveni Rabuka-led People’s Alliance-National Federation (PA-NFP) coalition to form the next government.https://t.co/57wLytvuHf

— RNZ Pacific (@RNZPacific) December 23, 2022

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Yesterday, People’s Alliance general secretary and registered officer Sakiasi Ditoka lodged a police complaint against Sayed-Khaiyum, alleging comments he made during a news conference this week incited racial hatred, violence and communal antagonism.

Commissioner Qiliho said the complaint had been handed over to the CID and that investigators were conducting their analysis before the next course of action was decided.

Sodelpa meeting
Meanwhile, Talebula Kate reports that members of the media covering the Sodelpa management board meeting at the Southern Cross Hotel in Suva have now been allowed near the hotel but remain outside the premises on the public walkway.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The incumbent FijiFirst government’s appeal was beginning to wane and voters deserted the party “because of what they saw as their authoritarian, non-inclusive, controlling and vindictive style of leadership”, says a leading Fijian academic with an international reputation.

Professor Steven Ratuva, director of the New Zealand-based University of Canterbury’s Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, said: “The writing was on the wall for the Voreqe Bainimarama-led party for some time”.

“People could hardly openly complain and criticise the government as one would expect in a democracy, fearing the consequences,” he said.

A coalition of the People’s Alliance Party and National Federation Party with 26 seats combined with Sodelpa’s crucial three seats claims that it has a majority in the expanded 55-seat Parliament for Sitiveni Rabuka to lead as Prime Minister.

Referring to the internal issues erupting within the kingmaker Social Democratic Liberal Party (Sodelpa), Professor Ratuva said it was time to respect the wishes of voters rather than the “hunger for power” and grievances of individual political players.

He said the Sodelpa split which led to the formation of the People’s Alliance was unfortunate “with lots of bruised souls and egos who harboured very deep resentment and clamour for vengeance”.

The issue was a complex mixture of “traditional vanua politics, personality power struggle and liumuri (backstabbing)” that was now unashamedly being played out in public.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Former Supervisor of Elections Jon Apted says that the coalition formed by the  Social Democratic Liberal Party with the People’s Alliance/National Federation Party should be able to successfully elect a Prime Minister at the first sitting.

He said that with the 2022 General Election over and FFP tied with the PA/NFP coalition at 26 seats each and Sodelpa holding three critical seats, there were a number of steps to be taken in the process of forming the next government.

“Once the Electoral Commission formally conducts the allocation of seats, they will publicly declare the names of the candidates who have been elected,” he said.

“They then forward those names to the Secretary-General to Parliament.

“They also endorse those names on the writ of election that was earlier issued to the Commission by the President and return the writ to the President.” Apted said under section 67 of the Constitution, the President must then call Parliament to meet within 14 days.

“This can be any date within the next two weeks.

“Under the Constitution, he needs to act on the advice of the current Prime Minister. The President has no power to act in his own judgment.”

Swearing in new members
Apted said under the Constitution where no party had won an outright majority of seats, the sitting PM and Cabinet remained in office until the first meeting of Parliament.

“At that first meeting, the SG must first swear in the new members who then elect the Speaker.

“The Speaker comes from outside Parliament. A candidate or candidates would be nominated by the members of the parties in Parliament. The Speaker must be elected by a simple majority of votes. Assuming that everyone turns up and is sworn in, that means that the new Speaker must have the support of at least 28 new MPs.”

Apted said once the Speaker was sworn in, he or she would preside over the selection in Parliament for who is to be the PM under section 93 of the Constitution.

“The Speaker first calls for nominations. If only one person is nominated and seconded, that person automatically becomes the PM. However, if there is more than one nominee, a vote must be taken.

“If a nominee gets more than 50 per cent of all the members of Parliament, then they will be PM. If no one gets more than 50 per cent, then a second vote must be held within 24 hours.

“The assumption is that lobbying will go on during this period.

“If after the second vote, someone has more than 50 per cent, he or she will be PM. If not, there has to be a third vote within 24 hours.”

Apted said if no one gets more than 50 per cent in the third vote, then the Speaker has to notify the President that Parliament is unable to elect a PM, and the President must within 24 hours dissolve Parliament and issue a new writ of election for a fresh election.

However, in reality with Sodelpa agreeing to form a coalition with the PAP/NFP coalition, that coalition should be able to successfully elect a PM at the first sitting, Apted said.

Felix Chaudhary is a Fiji Times journalist. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Many members of Auckland’s Fiji community say they are “delighted and relieved” by last week’s general election result.

Coup leader turned prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama seems set to lose his position after 16 years in office — eight years as dictator and the other half as elected prime minister.

An opposition coalition formed by the People’s Alliance, National Federation, and Sodelpa parties will replace FijiFirst as the country’s new government, led by another former coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka — now returning to the role as a democratically chosen leader.

Yesterday was a day of celebration for some members of the local community — some of whom migrated to New Zealand because of Bainimarama’s leadership.

“The [previous government] was hopeless, I’ll tell you what,” said the owner of an Auckland shop.

“All sorts of media freedom, union movements, all these things were taken away. I hope the new government can bring back that freedom.”

‘We need democracy’
The new government gave him hope for Fiji’s future, the shop owner said.

“We need democracy to take its course, and I think this is the time,” he said.

“[The coalition] will make a good Cabinet and they will have a better way of running the government, a government that listens to the people.”

But others were more sceptical. An owner of a Fiji restaurant said the coalition had a lot to prove.

“Let’s see what happens, there are big promises being made,” he said. “A three-member coalition, that’s worrying for us, who’s going to be making those big decisions?”

‘True democracy’ opportunity
University of Canterbury sociologist Professor Steven Ratuva said the new leadership had an opportunity to bring back true democracy.

“Although we’ve had democratic elections, the style of leadership hasn’t been very democratic.

“It’s a great opportunity to see whether it’s possible to reconfigure the governance process towards a more democratic system.”

The excitement within the community was palpable, Ratuva said.

“It’s very significant,” he said. “Bainimarama’s government has been around since the coup in 2006. It’s a [statement] against his style of governance, which has been seen to be authoritarian and vindictive.”

The new coalition, however, was in a precarious spot just hours earlier.

Only 16 of Sodelpa’s 30-member management board voted for the alliance, splitting the party down the middle.

Internal disagreements resurfaced within Sodelpa, less than 24 hours after it announced it was forming a coalition government.

“It was very, very close,” Dr Ratuva said. “Which means that the faction in Sodelpa that supported FijiFirst, they’re probably not finished yet, they’re probably thinking up something.”

Dr Ratuva said the election was not a done deal, and more would be seen in the coming days.

When the election was finalised, he said, the real work would begin.

“The new coalition will have to do a lot of reform, in terms of reimagining and reframing the new governance process in Fiji for the future,” he said.

“It’s a coalition of three parties, they will have to draw together all those intellectual, political, professional resources to rebuild from there.

“We’ll see what happens in a year, but there’s a lot of promise.”

Ardern in ‘wait-and-see’ approach
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was taking a wait-and-see approach over the Fiji election, but the foreign minister had already congratulated the new government.

Ardern said she would wait until “the dust settled” before contacting Rabuka.

When asked whether the result could cause civil unrest, Ardern said she was not concerned and that New Zealand’s role was simply to observe and support Fiji.

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta sent a tweet congratulating Rabuka on forming a coalition.

New Zealand looked forward to “working together to continue strengthening our warm relationship”, Mahuta said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. 

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The ruling FijiFirst party is refusing to concede the 2022 general election, saying it can only be called after the election of the prime minister on the floor of Parliament.

Its general secretary Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said that under the Fiji constitution the government was still in place and Voreqe Bainimarama remained the prime minister.

Sayed-Khaiyum — who is also caretaker Attorney-General — told local media the prime minister’s role and the power of the government would not change until the election of a new prime minister was held on the floor of Parliament.

Sayed-Khaiyum also questioned the validity of the newly announced opposition coalition between the People’s Alliance, National Federation Party and Sodelpa.

He said concerns raised by the resigned Sodelpa general secretary, Lenaitasi Duru claiming “anomalies” in the voting process, had to be considered.

Sayed-Khaiyum said he looked forward to resubmitting FijiFirst’s coalition proposal to the management board of the party should it see fit to sit again.

But he said the final say on who would become the next prime minister of Fiji would only be determined on the floor of Parliament.

Fiji’s president must call Parliament within 14 days of the writ of elections being returned, which took place in a ceremony on Monday at Government House.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. 

Internal disagreements have resurfaced within Sodelpa, Fiji’s kingmaking party, less than 24 hours after it announced it was forming a coalition government with the People’s Alliance and the National Federation Party.https://t.co/YzVPPsRwEb

— RNZ Pacific (@RNZPacific) December 21, 2022

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Claims of irregularities in the vote to create a new coalition government formed in Fiji have emerged.

Internal disagreements have resurfaced within Sodelpa, Fiji’s kingmaking party, less than 24 hours after it announced it was forming a coalition government with the People’s Alliance and the National Federation Party.

The latest turn of events has resulted in the party’s general secretary Lenaitasi Duru tendering his resignation on Tuesday night to the party’s management board following his concerns about “anomalies” in the voting process to elect a coalition partner.

Sodelpa’s 30-member board was split with 16 in favour of the new coalition and 14 in favour of teaming up with Fiji First.

Prior to stepping down Duru had written to Fiji’s president, Wiliame Katonivere, seeking deferment of the first Parliament sitting.

“This request is based on the Sodelpa constitutional anomalies of members that participated in the vote to determine our coalition partner to form government from December 2022,” Duru said in the letter.

He added: “Given the importance of this process in choosing our next government, we therefore wish to advise that the initial result taken by the board is null and void.”

According to local media reports Duru is still the general secretary of the party as his resignation will come into effect after 30 days.

RNZ Pacific has contacted Sodelpa for comment.

No Parliament sitting today
Meanwhile, the Parliament office has confirmed that there will be no sitting today, as they have not received any proclamation from the president.

The president must call Parliament within 14 days after the writ of elections is returned.

Speaking to RNZ Pacific last night, Sodelpa’s main negotiator, Anare Jale, said the coalition agreement signed by the three parties is a legally binding document.

Jale said the basis of the agreement is for the three Sodelpa MPs to vote along party lines in favour of People’s Alliance leader Sitiveni Rabuka to be Fiji’s next prime minister.

This means if any of the three candidates fail to do so, then according to the 2013 Fijian Constitution, they will lose their parliamentary seat.

“The coalition is solid. The party is solid. We have decided on a decision, and the provision of the Constitution is very clear. When the party decides on a decision to be taken by them in Parliament, they have to respect that.”

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Foreign Minister has endorsed the new government.

In a tweet, Nanai Mahuta offered her congratulations to PA-NFP-Sodelpa and Sitiveni Rabuka on forming a coalition to lead the people.

She also said she looks forward to working with the new government to continue strengthening the warm relationship.

Congratulations to PA-NFP-SODELPA/ Sitiveni Rabuka on forming a coalition to lead the 🇫🇯 people. 🇳🇿 looks forward to working together to continue strengthening our warm relationship #duavata #mahitahi #kotahitanga

— Nanaia Mahuta (@NanaiaMahuta) December 20, 2022

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. 

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

After 72 hours of negotiations ended yesterday, the Social Democratic Liberal Party finally chose the People’s Alliance party and National Federation Party as its coalition partners ending the 16 years of domination by 2006 coup leader Voreqe Bainimarama.

Speaking to the media outside Yue Lai Hotel in Suva last night, Sodelpa head of negotiations team and vice-president Anare Jale said it was not an easy decision to make.

The negotiations team from the ruling FijiFirst Party was led by its party leader and Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama. He was accompanied by FijiFirst general secretary Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

“The management board has been meeting for two hours today [Tuesday],” Jale said.

He said they made the decision following presentations from the FijiFirst Party, the People’s Alliance Party and National Federation Party.

“A secret ballot was conducted. There were about 30 members of the management board who voted.

14-16 split vote
“The decision was 14 voted for FijiFirst Party and 16 vote for the People’s Alliance Party.

“Sodelpa will form a coalition with the People’s Alliance Party and National Federation Party to form a new government.

“We have finally came to a decision and it has not been a very easy decision, it took us few days to decide on the way forward for the party, especially the choice of who we are going to form a coalition with to form the next government.

“It was a huge responsibility for Sodelpa and we are so grateful that the end has now come.”

He said the decision was a tough one.

“The decision was taken into account with presentations made to the negotiating team of Sodelpa which we have been receiving over the last three days.

“We analysed the presentations given, we went back to the management board to report to them.

Rabuka for PM
The negotiation team of the People’s Alliance Party was led by party leader Sitiveni Rabuka, who will become the new prime minister. Also a former coup leader, Rabuka was Fiji’s prime minister from 1992 to 1999.

Questions sent to FijiFirst party leader Voreqe Bainimarama and Sayed-Khaiyum remained unanswered when this edition went to press. RNZ Pacific also faced unanswered questions. The FijiFirst Facebook page has not been undated for four days.

The former Sodelpa leader, Ro Teimumu Kepa, said the negotiations were not easy.

Speaking at the news conference last night, she said the lengthy meeting was an indicator of how serious and crucial the meeting was.

“It has not been an easy 72 hours,” Ro Teimumu said.

“We’ve had three management board meetings but that is an indicator of how serious and how crucial and how important it was for us to make the right decision.

“We are factoring in the stability of our country, the way the people have asked us to look at the areas that we needed to look at in terms of where we were to vote today.

“We hope that the way ahead is going to be one that will bring good news to people in terms of the stability of our country, all the things that we’ve been mindful of and complaining about for the last 16 years.”

Ro Teimumu also took time to thank her party supporters.

“I would like to thank our Sodelpa supporters who came through and gave us three seats, which became very crucial in terms of determining the way ahead.

“We wish our parliamentarians especially the new coalition — that is the People’s Alliance Party, and the NFP and Sodelpa — we wish them all the best and we just ask you to keep them in your prayers.”

Rakesh Kumar is a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.

#FIJITIMESHEADLINES

Bula

The big one on the front page of The Fiji Times for Wednesday, December 21 is on politics.

When it mattered, the powers that be came together and voted for change!#TimesNews #TimesBiz #TimesSports #FijiNews https://t.co/5f0PZX6c3D

— The Fiji Times (@fijitimes) December 20, 2022

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

It’s the big day today! We will get to know the make-up of our Parliament. The results saw FijiFirst leading the vote count — but failing to gain a majority (26 seats) — followed by the People’s Alliance (21), the National Federation Party (5) and the Social Democratic Liberal Party (3).

Pundits were predicting Sodelpa could become ‘kingmakers” in the event of a tight finish, and based on them getting past the threshold!

Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem has not announced the total voter turnout, but he said yesterday this figure would be known today.

The 353,247 figure he released on Election Day, he said, was from 1200 or so polling stations, not 1400. There can be no doubts about the interest now focused on the outcome.

It had been a fiery tussle leading up to the elections on December 14.

Campaigns inched out attacks that turned ugly at times, and some became personal. When it mattered, we were told of a low voter turnout. All that will now be cast aside as we await the final announcement.

Will there be an outright winner?

Or will there be a role for Sodelpa to play? Voters would be keenly following how the numbers add up.

The atmosphere has been supercharged, highly emotional, and driving through divisions as party followers cling onto hope.

There is great suspense and anxiety! It isn’t a pleasant scenario.

The Supervisor of Elections has been highly visible, answering questions raised by party supporters and the local and international media.

In the face of that sits the voter, each with emotional responses that are on a leash. There were questions raised by political parties following that glitch on the first night of counting.

Press conferences were called by the parties highlighting their views on the turn of events. Social media has also been rife with claims and counter claims.

In saying that, the race was tight! That sets the stage for the big announcement. For whatever it’s worth, the result will end speculation and may raise discussions on eventualities if things don’t end the way the leading party leaders want it to.

The guessing game is on! Rumours were rife in the Capital City, and emotions were quite intense in many quarters. But we wait with bated breath for the big reveal!

This editorial was published in The Sunday Times on 18 December 2022 and has been edited slightly in the light of developments. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz