Finally!
After weeks of speculation, and great anticipation, the Fijian Elections Office confirmed that Registrar of Political Parties Ana Mataiciwa deregistered the FijiFirst Party yesterday.
The party was notified on Thursday, May 30, 2024, to amend its constitution to include provisions required under Schedule 2 of the (Political Parties) Act.
“As the party has not complied with this requirement, FijiFirst is hereby deregistered effective immediately, in accordance with section 12(4) of the Act,” she wrote.
The way forward was open now for an appeal, she said, pursuant to section 30(1) of the Act, which states any “person aggrieved by this decision to deregister FijiFirst may appeal to the Electoral Commission of Fiji within 14 days from the date of this decision”.
The process opens the door for this to happen within a 14-day appeal period.
If nothing happens over the period, the Registrar will start the winding-up process as per section 28(1) of the Act.
A letter detailing the decision was sent to all 26 FijiFirst Members of Parliament and the Speaker of Parliament Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu.
A notice was sent to the party requesting it to amend its constitution by Friday, June 28, at around 4pm!
This was prompted by a complaint lodged by MP Mosese Bulitavu, alleging the party had breached its own constitution by not allowing its parliamentary leader to participate in leadership committee meetings.
The letter by the Ms Mataiciwa stated that while trying to refer Mr Bulitavu to an internal party dispute resolution in the Fiji First constitution, she noted the party did not have any such provision.
She listed out other provisions relating to the party’s constitution that were missing.
Unfortunately, the document did not allow for members to make any changes without the founding members, who had all resigned from the party last month.
It left FijiFirst high and dry!
There are many questions that will be asked now, including how this was overlooked in the first place!
Sceptics will want to know what happens to the status of its Members of Parliament!
Now that they are independents, attention will shift to the Leader of the Opposition as well, his authority and whether he will still have the support of MPs who are now independent, and issues surrounding resignations for instance, and who steps up moving forward. Is there a setting for a by-election maybe in the event that happens?
Now weigh that against the need for accountability and transparency in the House, and who gets to hold the Government to account.
Truth to power!
We are now well into interesting times ahead with attention focused on the make-up of our Parliament in the wake of this turn of events.
What does our country need right now?
That’s a question our MPs will need to ponder on!
We have a Budget Debate coming up!
That’s a start!
