FijiFirst has been ordered to change its constitution by June 28 or face deregistration by Registrar of Political Parties Ana Mataiciwa.
The order from Ms Mataiciwa last Thursday said the party’s constitution did not have guidelines on how internal party disputes were resolved.
She says the party is in breach of the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Act 2013 because their constitution doesn’t outline how internal party disputes should be resolved.
Ms Mataiciwa confirmed receiving a letter of complaint from Mosese Bulitavu who alleged FijiFirst had breached its constitution by not allowing its parliamentary Leader of Opposition to participate in the leadership committee meetings.
“Please note that section 12 (2) of the Act states that the Registrar may, by Notice in writing, require a political party to amend its name, constitution or rules to comply with the Act,” Ms Mataiciwa said in the letter.
“FijiFirst is hereby given until 4pm on Friday June 28, 2024 to amend its constitution to include provisions relating to the items identified in three above. Failure to comply with this notice will result in your political party being deregistered as per section 12(4) of the Act.
“Furthermore, in light of section 18(1) of the Act, I hereby issue a Notice to you to furnish me with the list of names of office holders for FijiFirst including the names of members of the leadership committee and the central executive committee. This list must be provided to my office on or before 4pm on Wednesday June 5, 2024.
“Kindly note that failure to comply with this notice is an offence under section 18(4) and you shall be liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both.”
Mr Bulitavu yesterday confirmed he had filed a complaint with the Registrar of Political Parties and acknowledged receiving a reply.
Questions sent to Mr Koya remained unanswered when this edition went to press.
