THE Electoral Commission has confirmed that no candidate will be appointed to replace Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations minister Agni Deo Singh in Parliament.
The commission made the clarification following Singh’s passing in Brisbane, Australia, on September 12, saying the vacant seat will remain vacant until Fiji’s next general election.
“The Electoral Commission will therefore not undertake any process to award the vacant seat to another candidate,” the commission said.
Under Section 64(1) of the Constitution, a vacant seat held by a member of a political party would normally be awarded to the highest-ranked available candidate from the same party following the most recent general election.
However, the commission said Section 64(3) applied in Singh’s case which stated that a parliamentary seat remained vacant if it became available more than three years and six months after the first meeting of Parliament following the most recent general election.
The commission confirmed that the required constitutional period had already elapsed on June 24 this year.
This means Singh’s former seat will remain vacant for the rest of the current parliamentary term with no replacement to be selected.
