Deputy Prime Minister and National Federation Party (NFP) leader Professor Biman Prasad says the party is committed to an enduring political partnership with their coalition partners that may extend beyond 2026.
Speaking at the NFP annual convention in Sigatoka, Prof Prasad thanked Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka for his support.
Prof Prasad said working in a coalition was challenging, and there were some issues on which the three parties disagreed, sometimes publicly.
“We expect that, we are all in politics for different reasons,” he said.
“We represent different people with different priorities.
“But let me also tell you that even when there is public disagreement, we each respect that. We are all democrats. We do not hide our views from each other or from the people.
“Like mature adults, we are able to differ with each other and to do so with mutual respect.”
Prof Prasad said while those in the NFP did not always win the argument, or get their way, they respected their partners and their views.
“Respect builds trust. And after years of living under a government that trusted nobody, we are rebuilding trust in our country.
“We know that we in the Coalition Government are far from perfect. As we try to rebuild democratic, accountable government in Fiji, we have made mistakes and errors of judgment.
“We are regularly criticised for those events, sometimes fairly, sometimes not. But people are free to criticise us.
“The media is free to report on us. When the people ask our Prime Minister about these mistakes, he answers honestly.”
He said the Government had kept their promise to restore freedom to Fiji’s people, to remove fear and intimidation, and to listen and consult. Yesterday’s convention was attended by hundreds of NFP supporters, and an AGM was also held.
All existing board members were reelected.
