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MEDIA
RELEASE
NFP
WILL BE AN EFFECTIVE OPPOSITION
After
almost 8 years of military rule, democracy has returned to Fiji.
The
people of Fiji have spoken through the ballot box, not withstanding
irregularities in polling that we as a party have complained about
via our letter of last Friday, providing evidence to this effect,
which is just a small sample of irregularities, reports of which will
be compiled and sent to the Electoral Commission seeking
clarification.
Nevertheless,
people of Fiji have elected a government for the next four years. We
respect the verdict of the people and wish Mr Voreqe Bainimarama and
his government well for the next four years. We expect nothing short
of a transparent and accountable government and we will hold the new
government to this principle.
We
also wish SODELPA and its leader Marama Bale Roko Tui Dreketi Ro
Teimumu Kepa well in parliament for the next 4 years.
As
a party the NFP fought the general elections on issues. Team NFP had
men and women of integrity, honesty, and qualified to serve the
people of Fiji. We did not campaign along racial and religious lines.
Above all, our campaign was not based on lies and deceit.
We
thank our members, supporters and well wishers for placing their
trust in us. We did not win any seats in the 1999 and 2006 general
elections. We won a seat in the 2001 elections and our Member of
Parliament, the then Opposition Leader lost his seat controversially
after a court challenge by our opponents.
Therefore
it is a matter of some pride that the NFP is back in Parliament with
3 seats. Every party contests the elections to form government and
the NFP was no exception. But we are pleased that a party written off
by many, has performed creditably and won three seats, largely
through the efforts of Team NFP. Despite massive electoral setbacks
in the last 3 general elections, the NFP survived as a party because
of its principles, objectives and a never-say-die spirit of our
supporters. We applaud them and promise not to shirk the principles
of our founding leaders, which has been part of our DNA for the last
51 years.
The
NFP will be an effective opposition party in parliament. We will
work with all Members of Parliament including those from Government
benches to ensure that the Parliament becomes an effective debating
chamber on important issues affecting the people of Fiji.
Parliament
is the highest court of the land and the parliamentary floor is a
firm foundation to address issues confronting our people. We will do
so in an open and transparent manner. We will criticize government’s
policies not just for the sake of doing so, but provide credible
alternatives. And at the end of four years, we will once again
appear before the people of Fiji and be judged on whether or not we
have performed effectively as a party, both in and outside of
parliament.
While
the result is not what we expected, we are still happy that Team
NFP’s 49 candidates have secured 3 seats. Our Madam President is
the 2nd
highest vote getter amongst women candidates behind SODELPA Leader
Marama Bale Roko Tui Dreketi Ro Teimumu Kepa. The NFP Leader received
the 4th
highest number of votes. And a party that has been out of Parliament
for 15 years has 3 seats. This is no mean feat.
We
thank all the people of Fiji for participating in the general
election and turning out in large numbers to exercise their right. We
acknowledge the hard work of the Electoral Commission, the Supervisor
of Elections and all staff of the Elections Office, including members
of the public recruited to work as polling day workers and presiding
officers.
We
also acknowledge the support of the international community in
ensuring through diplomacy that elections would be held as promised
and their financial contribution towards the elections.
We
thank the media organisations and individual journalists for working
very hard under difficult circumstances, in allowing voters to make
informed choices in the election.
As
a party born out of the struggle for equality, dignity and justice of
al our people, the NFP has reclaimed its place rightful place in
Parliament. 3 seats may be a small step but a giant stride for us.
There can be no doubt whatsoever about this.
Biman
Prasad
Leader
9 comments:
With respect to four readers whose comments I have deleted because they were anonymous, and added nothing to a discussion on this post (insults rarely do), they are not the publishers of this blog. I am, and I will continues, as I have since 2007, to publish items that I think will be of interest to readers.whatever their political views. For months I've been called names by anti-Bainimarama readers; now I'm called a NFP supporter because I have published a NFP press release. Get real!
To quote you: " Above all, our campaign was not based on lies and deceit. " Well then, tell us which party or individual is spreading lies and deceit ? Now that the election is over, will you tell the people of Fiji honestly what actually caused the price increase of dairy products?
Quote: " We respect the verdict of the people". Do you accept "Fijian" as THE common identity for all citizens of Fiji? I know you arent man enough to face the people and answer questions honestly, therefore, I put it to you that you are full of lies and deceit hence a hypocrite.
Dr Biman and Company also said in their interviews that they will bring amendments to the Decrees such as Media Decree, can Dr Biman tell us how can Oppositions do amendments to the Decrees/Acts?
I think these Politicians should stop telling lies to public about what they will do or can do.
Croz,
Is the Fiji Elections Office going to supply statistics like the No. of men and women (by ethnicity, age group, etc) that voted for each party in each District ?
Perhaps these stats can be very useful for analysis and research.
We can also perhaps use these stats to come up with new policies or use it for the identification issues that may assist both Govt. and the Opposition Parties.
Just a thought hope worth asking.
Vinaka.
Simple
Biman would have amended if NFP had won the elections.
To his credit, he brought NFP out of the wilderness where it had been thrust by losers such as Wadan Narsey in 1999
Nice job, Lighthouse
We'll see how the Opposition behaves. The Opposition parties have a lot to learn about how to make democracy work. They cannot change anything because they don't have the numbers.
If the Government is smart it can make the Opposition look silly, foppish, unintelligent, shallow, naive, reckless and so on. But smart's the word
Lighthouse ...Yes, indeed. This can be estimated from the polling station returns. Fiji Broadcasting published the last few. but I hope to obtain them all when the SoE comes back from a well deserved rest.
Biman is well known for his boasts and unrealistic claims. He is a very good populist politician, fooling voters to reduce VAT. Biman is another mahen chaudhry in the making. NFP with three seats will be weak in parliament and won't be able to change things despite Biman's big talk. That's the factr. Under Biman's leadership NFP polled less votes in this election than the last one. Please Biman, we know you are a professor but do not patronise us. Can we have some honesty from you please?
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