It started with Mahendra Chaudhry complaining about a minivan showing a FijiFirst sticker during the blackout period and another alleged election breach when a disabled voter at St Joseph's in Suva was assisted by an election officer with no witness present.
Then there were complaints that the counting had stopped when all that had stopped were the announcements, and RadioNZI quoted an unnamed SODELPA official saying its agents had noted anomalies in the transmission and counting of votes, and FijiLeaks claimed the Multinational Observer Group (MOG) were having "a good holiday in Fiji."
And then someone calling himself Thakur Loha Singh on a blog said he'd heard of a polling station where the votes of relatives of a candidate mysteriously disappeared and the candidate ending up with a zero vote." He said he'd "forewarned political parties of this some time ago." Not a shred of evidence — but he made sure his prophecy came true.
Then there was a lull. SODELPA talked about "democracy at work", "respecting the will of the people" and the "need to go forward" and NFP said "We respect the choice of the people of Fiji."
Many countries, including Australia and NZ, sent their best wishes ,and MOG said that it was satisfied with the process and outcome.
And then the storm
Later the same day, when the provisional results showed overwhelming support for FijiFirst (32 seats), SODELPA (14 seats), NFP with 3 seats and no other party even close to the 5% threshold, there were hints that the opposition parties would meet.
And later still came the announcement, read by Mick Beddoes (whose votes were too few for him to become an MP), in the presence of a dignified Ro Teimumu (in a reversal of her earlier position), a calm Lydia Tabuya (who will be missed in the new Parliament), and an agitated Mahendra Chaudhry (whose FLP, at that stage, had won only 2.4% of the total votes): The elections had been rigged!
Beddoes said evidence, supplied by their agents at polling stations, was that the election was rigged, citing the removal of ballot papers before they were counted and tampering of ballot boxes. The complaint was later lodged with the Electoral Commission but evidence to support the claim has so far not been received.
Minister for Elections, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum discounted the claim, saying that the proper procedure was to complain to the supervisors of polling stations when irregularities were suspected (and this had not been done) and to the Supervisor of Elections with evidence, which at that time had also not been done.
Two observations and a recommendation
I will wait for the final assessment of the MOG and the Electoral Commission but at this stage I have two observations and a recommendation:
First, I suspect the rally of opposition parties was organized by Mick Beddoes in his role as spokesman for the United Front for a Democratic Fiji, and motivated in part by his poor showing in the polls. I'm surprised he did not see that few ethnic Fijians voting for SODELPA would vote for him.
Mick talked earlier of SODELPA working from its natural ethnic base and evolving or "becoming" a multi-ethnic party. Preliminary results show that none of the three Indo-Fijian and two "Other" candidates came anywhere close to winning a SODELPA seat. I'm surprised Mike miscalculated so badly.
Mahendra Chaudhry was the other organizer who spoke out at the rally. I think he is now a spent force in Fiji politics and the once proud FLP has no future unless, as candidate Dr Rohit Kishore said, it has a new leader. Mahendra's son, Rajendra, writing from self-imposed exile in Sydney certainly has not helped his father's cause.
Secondly, it would take massive rigging, not one or two suspected procedures at a small number of polling stations, to change the result.
The provisional vote for FijiFirst exceeds the vote of all the other parties combined. Well over 100,000 votes would need to have been tampered with under the eyes of the elections supervisors, international observers and party agents. The possibility of such an occurrence defies belief.
Recommendation
The respective parties should now be reconsidering their roles in the new parliament. FijiFirst has announced its policies and earlier spoke of a code of ethics and quality MPs. Fiji now needs to see the promises kept.
SODELPA and NFP need to push aside the "traditional" role of Westminster oppositions that criticize and obstruct every action by Government. This may work in older democracies but it has never worked in Fiji. They need to help Fiji really "move forward" by selectively supporting and criticizing the work of Government, and making helpful proposals of their own.
The media, and the blogs, need to do likewise. Peter Firkins in the blog FijiToday writes that it will now "turn heat on the elected government". I would hope it joins me in scrutinising both government and opposition. Fiji Coup4.5, the day before, asked "Is this D-Day for the Thug?" A blog that started as a reasonable critic of Government degenerated into an unprincipled rumour-maker, and much the same can be said of most other anti-Bainimarama blogs. Without "born again" experiences, they have no further useful part to play in the future of Fiji.
The time for recrimination and point scoring is over.
Each party in Parliament needs to extend a reconciliatory hand in friendship and listen to what each other says. Democracy in Fiji is still a very tender plant that will need gentle, principled nourishment from everyone who says they love democracy and Fiji.
52 comments:
Interesting that it look likes many Fiji First candidate will get a seat in parliament who also have polled extremely low. For years Croz you have been going on about Mick getting into previous parliament on low votes. Will we hear the same from you about the many new Fiji First men and women ?
PS the balance of seats looks about right to me for a bright future. I only wish NFP did a bit better and SOLDEPA a bit less as at least Biman and team have polices and can debate - they will make a better opposition than SOLDEPA
Excellent stuff Croz
Anonymous .... You misunderstand the open list system. Even if a candidate got only one vote he could still be in parliament if the party as a whole won sufficient votes to get down to his order on the list. I prefer the closed list system and will write about is soon. I also wish NFP had done better.
...
Its a bit high handed of you to suggest that the anti blogs have no further role to play. You may not have indulged in blatant rumour mongering but you have been guilty of a number of inaccuracies and displays of biasedness over the years. I say all power to them - let the consumer decide their relevance.
Well done Croz. The rape of the nation is almost complete. Congratulations to khaiyum and his clan. The middle east repeats itself?
So Croz are you saying that those who raped democracy, those who corrupted the rule of law, are now embracing democracy?
I did not say all anti- blogs had no role to play. Read what I said about FijiToday. Even Coup4.5 could p[ay a useful role if it rethinks its mission. You are of course correct in saying there have been inaccuracies in this blog but they were accidental, not deliberate as in a high number of anti- blog postings, and I corrected those that were brought to my attention. My biases are declared, fact is usually separated from opinion, and I make far more effort than most to present more than one side to a story.
"The time for recrimination and point scoring is over."
"Each party in Parliament needs to extend a reconciliatory hand in friendship and listen to what each other says. Democracy in Fiji is still a very tender plant that will need gentle, principled nourishment from everyone who says they love democracy and Fiji."
Croz these facts might help your distorted bias in support of the rpae of the nation:
"Fiji's historic election has declared the poll free but have questioned whether it was fair.
THE multinational observer group, co-led by Australia, on Thursday announced Fiji's first election in nearly a decade was "credible" and broadly representative of the will of voters.
But the group was less glowing about the electoral environment preceding the September 17 poll, particularly limitations placed on news organisations and democratic institutions.
"Civil society participation in the process was restricted," the group stated in its preliminary report.
"The restrictive media framework, including potentially onerous penalties, limited the media's ability to examine rigorously the claims of candidates and parties."
What a terrible situation this criminal junta has put the nation of Fiji in?
Mr. Walsh, you said "each party in parliment needs to extend a reconciliatory hand in friendship...." I am not too clear on the details but I seem to remember that one of the main reasons Bainimarama took over government was because he disagreed with the truth and reconciliation bill. So help me out here, are we expected to offer a reconciliatory hand in friendship to Bainimarama and group only and no one else? Should I tenderly nourish this "democratic" government while it was okay to put the other previous governments under a microscope?
In very large part you are right, Croz: if the 'opposition parties' (the ones, together, that do not have the numbers to be "the government") continue to try and do what Opposition parties do in seasoned Westminister type systems--turn the screw at every turn and keep resurrecting the sins of the past, the young, fragile Parliamentary system in Fiji will, in likelihood, not survive. This means that the quality timbre, tone and substance of debate has got to change--both inside Parliament and on the platforms of debate and the expression of opinion outside of it. The immediate full scale loosening of all of the restrictions on "the press" will not--and, in my view, ought not, to occur in one fell swoop. It will take time for a culture of reason and responsibility to emerge as it did in "the West", for example. Democracy is still a "foreign flower" in Fiji, a graft that has not quite taken yet and will require, as you intimate, Croz, using a different metaphor, a lot of TLC--tender, loving care. By the same token, the new Government, likely to have a sufficient majority to govern in its own right, should not use the hammer of its numbers as a sledge hammer to secure its will at all times over every issue.The exercise of political power, particularly in circumstances where a governing entity has a solid majority as the Fiji First government is likely to have, has to play it smart: use its power with great discretion and considerable care. A smart government in a fledgling democracy does its genuine best to consult of the the relevant players on major issues particularly but at the same time, after such consultations, it must grab the nettle, make decisions and move the country forward. Endless debate and wrangling is not an option. A Fiji First government with a solid majority, having been tempered somewhat by the twin tyrannies of time and experience, should have learned enough lessons to take the high road and stay there. If opposition elements--either in Parliament or outside of it--wish to remain in the gutter, they have the right to remain there and bay at the moon--within the confines of constitutionally permissible free speech--however flawed the present constitution might be seen to be by some dissidents.
And, further: victory at the polls will merely bring Fiji First to the first threshold of governing the country.
The new government will have to put a team of competent Cabinet members together. Just looking at the FF list of candidates I wonder how many of them are going to be capable enough to handle the complexities of ministerial responsibility. The tasks of a Minister are many but I think every Minister has to have the ability to take charge of a Department (or, sometimes, more than just one). Parliament, composed of the peoples' elected representatives, is supreme. The Public Service, the bureaucracy, takes its orders from Parliament. Way back in the 1970s both Britain and Australia recognized that actual power had shifted by a subtle process over many years from Parliament to the Public Service. Barbara Castle, for example, raised that issue in Britain and several other MPs did too. In Australia, Gough Whitlam recognized it as did many of members of his Front Bench, later to become members of his Cabinet. Both in Britain and in Australia a system of appointed Ministerial staff was established as a "countervailing force" to bureaucratic power. If Bainimarama becomes PM he and his closest colleagues should give not a small amount of serious thought to establishing a system of appointed Ministerial staff as a countervailing force to bureaucratic power and also to provide independent advice and assistance to individual Ministers. Weak Ministers, untrained, without much intellectual muscle of their own, quickly become pawns and silly putty in the hands of their Permanent Secretaries. The work of parliamentary government is thus distorted.The relationship between Minister and his/her Permanent Secretary is a delicate one. Chemistry is important. And so is balance. But in the wash, the smart and effective Minister makes it clear to the Permanent Sec that he (or she) as Minister is the boss--the dog and not the dog's tail.
I will dare say this: If there is a FF government and it ignores this matter its quality as a government will suffer and very soon enter the doldrums.
I might add that Fiji is in urgent need of massive Civil Service reform to bring it out of its rusty cage of colonialism into the daylight of the 21st century. That is also an urgent task.
And, of course, there is a lot else besides. The new government will have little time to lose. The tasks of governing--and governing well are many. In Fiji's case, given its recent history, any new government will have a very short honeymoon. Any new government will have to buckle up and get moving--not in indecent haste--but in a modality that is carefully calibrated with smarts aplenty. I am back to where I started from: Are there, will there be, 'smarts' aplenty in the new government?
To quote Tennyson: "Only event will teach us in its hour."
Has anyone else noticed that Marc Edge has gone very quiet? Isn't the silence lovely. What's up Marc?
Edge has returned to Canada. He intends to join a religious order committed to silence and prayer unless he can replenish himself with more hot air that he does not have to pay for. Other than that Marc is doing just fine. He has become a seeker of new truths about how the world works.
Croz
Just look at the election results: 1010 Mick Beddoes 284
Mick got more votes then many of FFP candidates who are going into Parliament with 700 plus votes
Where is justice
The gloating mongoose is back. Have a nice day boney arse.
The sham elections are a farce. Time to now put the pressure on this regime. It will be interesting to see how they react. The idiot military can continue to support the rape of Fiji or get some guts and save it.
You certainly need to read on how the Open List System works because that will answer your question. We all knew and know how it works including Mick Beddoes. For the life of me I couldn't believe when Mick, Nirmal Singh and other non-I taukei candidates thought that they would be able to get into parliament being a member of Sodelpa whose manifesto is built around winning votes on racial lines, especially under Open List system. Bottom line is strong I taukei members of Sodelpa would still pick Vane Seruvakula a political greenhorn over Beddoes because she is Taukei although they both belong to Sodelpa. Whilst the political landscape has moved in Fiji, Sodelpa and people like Mick Beddoes didn't jump in the bus. This is the most significant lesson that Sodelpa and Fiji Labour Party needs to learn. I have repeated this in my previous contributions way before the election.
Sa dri yani.
Ratu Naita
If you can't provide evidences like your politically immature party leaders, take a hike. Case of sour grapes from all of them.
Mick Beddoes is a jok, a poseur, a windbag and a chameleon. He is shallow, unread and undereducated. Poor Mick he keeps talking even when nobody is listening to him any more. Get a life, Mick. May be SODELPA will create a new job for Mick: Opposition shit stirrer,Grade 5 (Grade One being the highest grade for shit stirrers). One condition: Mick will have to lose weight--at least 45 pounds before Christmas.
Suggest you check to see how the Open List system works. And perhaps read what I said above on the same topic. Here it is, repeated: "Anonymous .... You misunderstand the open list system. Even if a candidate got only one vote he could still be in parliament if the party as a whole won sufficient votes to get down to his order on the list. I prefer the closed list system and will write about is soon. I also wish NFP had done better."
The reasons for the PMs popularity is well explain in this letter from Lady Kara Davis published September 13 2014.
Dear Prime Minister Bainimarama,
For over 40 years, while living in the Pacific region, I visited Fiji often. My many visits involved travelling to all the main towns and many small villages on Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, and some of the outer islands. I met and interacted with people from all walks of life, from the poorest of the poor to the most prominent.
Because of my support for and involvement with higher education, the late Dr Umanand Prasad graciously introduced my colleague, Dr Reza Chowdhury and me to many people in the business and academic community. We also visited numerous villages where we met and interacted with local villagers and prominent professionals.
In spite of the usual island peculiarities and problems, the kindness and culture of the Fijian people warmed my heart profoundly!
In addition, everywhere I went, I heard nothing but the highest praise for you and your leadership. Finally, there was confidence and change for a better future.
Over the years, I have seen first-hand the immense improvements your leadership has made in Fiji, under very difficult circumstances and daunting challenges.
Your dedication and tireless efforts to rid Fiji of over 125 years of discrimination, inequities, division, and corruption; improve Fiji’s economy and living standards; and unite the Fijian people, are truly admirable.
When I was in Fiji last, I had the opportunity to watch your budget speech on TV.
What I heard and observed was so impressive! Your intelligence, attention to detail, support of higher education, plans for improving every sector of the population and its economy, and vision for Fiji, were and are indeed remarkable.
It took a great deal of courage to do what you have done and sacrifice yourself the way you did, for the betterment of Fiji and its people.
To those who understand what you are doing and trying to achieve for Fiji and your people, you are a true hero and leader! In fact, you are the Pacific region’s most outstanding leader!
Sadly, your critics in Fiji’s Pacific neighbourhood know little, if anything, about Fiji’s culture and the inequities of Fiji’s history; or perhaps, they have their own agenda.
My colleague in Washington, Dr. Reza Chowdhury and I both wish you and your government every success in the up and coming election. Now, more than ever, the world needs more leaders like you.
Where is justice?, the person above asks.
Let me see, the last time I checked Justice was at Starbucks having an iced double coffee macchiato waiting for the for the guy in charge of elections to get his act together and give us a final tally.
Nice letter, Lady Davis.
It has taken a lot of courage for Prime Minister Bainimarama to do what he has done. Like the rest of us he isn't perfect. He stubs his toe once in a while, scrapes his knee, falls down--but he has always got up, done the best job he's been able to do. And now to keep moving ahead.
These former politicians have a personal vendetta. They have no national interest.If they did the right thing to do is concede defeat and regather and see why they lost and improve in the next elections.
That would be more honourable and would keep their integrity (if any at all) for the next elections. They were not prepared to lead the country and govern. All they wanted was to take revenge on Frank.
The people have spoken. Moce Viti. Moce Jo.
These bad losers have really shown what they are made of.
People have voted, government will be soon elected, may be not your choice of government @Anonymous, but an elected government by the majority, deal with it. As Cros said '…time for point scoring is over." - move on or move out of the way.
Yes..this is Sour Grapes Syndrome
@Anon 19/09/14 11:14, new to Fiji's political climate are we? Many before 'couped'/"raped democracy" and then went into power/"embraced democracy". People have voted, government will be elected soon, democracy restored, deal with it. Move on or move out of the way.
Government almost voted in - deal with it.
Mick Beddoes is a joke. Mahen is going out in a bad way. All his legacy he flushed down the toilet himself. Did you hear him argue like a crazed man to reporter Adwin. Who would have voted for him. Self-embarrassment should have its limits.
This in Fiji's history is the most fair election ever held. This is the most democratic system of voting Fiji has ever had.
MOG had 33% coverage. Perhaps the most they have ever had. To indirectly call them incompetent is so strange. When you see a van being loaded with ballots you report the matter to MOG. They were everywhere. No...you keep it with you until you get humiliated at the results then you furnish the abnormalities. As long as I win "Lets forget about it".
Fiji First coming into the government will work for the people. Why?,,,Cause they already have a solid track record. A Sodelpa Gov parliament would have felt like being at a funeral. Sad long faces. depressing. Fiji First is exciting, new & cool. That is why many young voters have supported Fiji First. One day you come out of your driveway and see a nice tar sealed road with footpaths..this will make you happy. Frank Brainimarama, Aiyaz Khaiyum and Ratu Inoke Kubuabola are a class of their own. Best Foreign Minister ever! Imagine what he will be able to do now. They make things happen.
To differentiate the good from evil..evil needs to coexist. The villians of the nation did such a good job that they only made the light shine brighter on Frank Bainimarama.
The results and outcomes speak for themselves, the proof is in he pudding. The regular everyday citizens have experienced something great by this government, others have their own agenda. Truth speaks for itself.
Sounds like Sour Puss with a bloated arse full of shit !!
Croz, I am the original Anon above. I understand the system and that is why I knew many Fiji First with very very low votes will be in parliament. I had wondered if you would be vocal on this since you had laughed many times before at Micks low votes and him being in parliament.
The Fiji military is the new GCC. Well done I-taukei! Bye bye chaudry - now you and the rest go wash some feet.
Fiji, we have voted and our voices have made a blast and the verdict is out there for everyone!!. 30% for SODELPA is still good! The common ordinary person knows exactly what they want: Food, Security and a future where we ALL prosper. The elite do not have to earn a living, they are born lucky yet want to rule just due to their privileged status. Well I think as we grow as a nation, we will unite and become better with democracy The majority of people do not have the chance or time to write blogs and do this social media stuff. They are more worried about their access to health, food, security, bus fare, school fees, etc. In short what the top class hippies do not have to worry about!! Eloquent speeches and high promises will not persuade the grassroots people. True Sincerity, identifying with the common person, being down to earth and listening to the real people, delivering what was promised is the winning formula. I will not explain the achievements of the winning team. This election has shown the true power of democracy, it is the people who will decide the future. Democracy gives everyone a chance. One vote to each person. I actually feel sorry for SODELPA and the FLP because they stuck to their original designs and failed. They needed to change their tactics and overall strategy. Trust once lost is very difficult to regain - warning to Fiji First as well!!. The people can not be fooled all the time.
In the ashes of defeat I think SODELPA and the FLP will find some embers that they could use to ignite the passion to rise and maybe lead. One thing is clear the race card will not work in the future and also fear mongering (loss of land, Fijian/itaukei name(?), native interests, etc) is a loser idea. So they are left now with how to connect from their high status and positions to the common low level grassroots families. The president and PM travel around as ordinary citizens and are very much approachable! Try saying hello to a chief - strict protocol needed - GCC /Tradition style!! Tough when you are born to be the top dog. This is what made Fiji First leader different - he was fighting for everyone and to build a better country for ALL. Basically, last chance for the SODELPA group to make amends. If this government continues with such a pace with its successes, I think the next election may see the end of SODELPA because the old fleet is fast becoming irrelevant to politics like everything else they were trying to revive; tradition will always have a place for these battlers.
The irony is the the radical youths may have wanted to make some problems/ noise but the law enforcers showed them the hard sticks they would be faced/fed (if face not available!). Peace ensued for the best election i have been part of! Congrats to Fiji First but please do not fail my vote because the future of children depend on it..God Bless Fiji!
Still waiting for evidence of vote rigging. Loud mouth Micky mouse, chorwa Chaudhary, racist Teimumu and other side kicks NFP and PDP where is the proof? When will you idiots stop lying? You people should rejoice about the fact that there still are some dumb arses in Fiji who voted for you.
@ Anon above.
Yes this has happened before. Einstein defined insanity as repeating a failed experiment in the same way hoping it will suceed. Insanity in Fiji just repeated itself.
Why does Croz need to be vocal about something that is not right? You state that you understand the list system but you don't understand it's application or you simply don't want to accept it because maybe the party or person you support didn't get into parliament. Either way life must continue and those that are politically immature will get over it.
Their lies has come back to bite them in the ass big time. Qori kemu!!
Maybe you are the insane one in Fiji. People have spoken, respect that and get over yourself. The actions of other political leaders is so politically immature it beggars belief. People's vote states that majority of the people have picked Frank over them and because of their personal vendetta against Frank they hijack the entire country. I was never a fan of frank's coup nor any coup for that matter but current immaturity shown by this group is making me re-think. Pity people like Linda Tabuya and Filimoni Vosarogo are getting caught up with them. These two young politicians are part of the bright future for Fiji.
The people want a leader and party with plans to take the country forward. Not a bunch of losers who try to discredit other parties and politicians as the main thrust of their campaign.
Same happened to Kim Dotcom and Hone Harawira paid the price for that campaign. Dirty politics never worked.
8 years no coup, and counting, another 2 and we will have a decade, and hopefully many more decades to come.
That wasn't Justice, that was Justine at SB!!
Marc Edge was here only for a short while. Not only is he out of touch with Fiji, he had his own personal vendetta, and found a common cause with local journalists like Netani Rika, Samisoni Pareti and Dennis Rounds. These three are the principals behind the falsely-titled 'Friends for Fiji Media' facebook page. A more appropriate title would be 'Friends for SDL/SODELAPA'. These people have been carrying the torch for SDL/SODELPA using journalism, media freedom and democracy as a cover. The election results have exposed the personal and political agendas of this group. It shows how hopelessly out-of-touch these old fart, so-called, journalists are with the sentiments of the people, especially the younger people. This is what happens when you support a racist political agenda and become activists while pretending to be journalists. Samisoni Pareti, Netani Rika and Dennis Rounds are still stuck in the Speight era, racist-driven, politics while the rest of Fiji had moved on. What pathetic failures as journalists. It was funny how they latched on to the Papua cause because it fitted their political agenda. As someone pointed out, never in their careers before did these mediocre 'journalists' give a shit about the Papuan cause, or the Kanak cause for that matter. When Rabuka sold out the indigenous cause to the French in exchange for military aid, where was the concern? Now the facebook page, predictability, is part of bandwagon disputing the election results. These 'jpournalists' have no more credibility left.
Sodelpas Josef Goebbels mick bedose failed miserably as their chief propagandist and should retire and shut his big mouth for good.
POSTED ON COUP 4.5
"Firstly I am not a Fiji First supporter - I voted for NFP - and am very disappointed that FF have won so convincingly.
HOWEVER... and just to get this off my chest I am deeply ashamed at the behaviour of the behaviour of the 5 other "major" parties (If you can call 2-3% major!) using the media to socialise serious allegations of corruption and electoral fraud based on flimsy evidence. And then to see Mick Beddoes and Lynda Tabuya (and no doubt Chaudary rubbing his hands together in the background) - none of them were even close to being elected - and here they are standing in front of the media holding up a picture as evidence ( incriminating some poor man just doing his job and probably working for minimum wage)- and then using this as grounds for holding the elections to ransom and demanding a recount!?! If you've got concerns and have evidence fine - use the processes available to you to raise your concerns - tell the MOG, tell the ECC, tell the SoE but to brief the international media, and create a storm in a teacup rather than following due process, has done nothing more than undermine the confidence of a nation in the immediate euphoria of MY country returning to democracy for the first time. I can just see the international community waking up to the headlines created by these conspiracy theorists and shaking their heads and then making disparaging comments about our country being a Banana republic and a lost cause.
Their actions show the selfish motivations of these people very clearly. Their interests are self serving, they are sore losers and need to show some self respect and dignity and lose graciously. I voted for NFP so was pleased to see that Tupou and Biman distanced themselves from Sodelpa and PDP as it became clear that their evidence was embarrasingly pathetic. To be honest I felt embarrassed for them but more than that I felt sorry for the nation and people I love.
I was surprised to see Lynda Tabuya associate herself so strongly with this as I was impressed with her campaign but unfortunately it's going to be remembered for the wrong reasons, same old same old from Big Mick, and as for Chaudary less said the better.
ANyway Onward and upward Fiji. An effective democracy relies on a strong opposition and I have hope that my vote will contribute to this through NFP's presence in parliament. Thanks for listening, just needed to vent :)
All the best to the new government - we don't have to agree with the way the people vote - but we must always respect and fight for their right to choose who leads them...."
Well said! They are paddling shite upstream and drinking from it too being, what goes in is what coming out, they are caught in the vicious shite circle.
Vinaka
Very well put by the NFP supporter. I for one was quite disappointed that NFP didn't win a few more seats rather than Sodelpa. Personally, I think NFP would be a better opposition and would be more constructive. I had been harping on here earlier about the lack of political maturity by other party leaders. This is the very reason why I for now agree with Frank that the old politics need to be made irrelevant. Fiji needs leaders that put the interest of people first and are not governed by personal vendetta. Chaudhary has certainly showed his true colours by putting his self interest first rather than the party. Chaudhary is now history and unless Labour picks another leader, the party will go down with him. Sodelpa needs to start working towards the next election now by totally shifting their platform from divisive policies based under the guise of championing I'taukei cause to a more multi racial inclusive vision. Sodelpa needs to get rid of old racist politicians and start anew. If they don't they will become history come next election especially if a Frank and his government keep delivering at the rate they have in the last 3 years. Frank seems to be heading in the right direction straightaway through his speech today by stating that regardless of who you voted for he is every Fijians prime minister. His call for everyone to put their differences aside now and work together for the betterment of Fiji is a master stroke launching his political career under democracy.
May God Bless Fiji.
Ratu Naita
Very well put by the above person in coup4.5. Writing is on the wall especially for two parties in Fiji. Mahen Chaudhary has taken the Labour Party down with him due to his selfishness. Certain contributors here have talked about power hungry politicians; Chaudhary is a classic example.
On the other hand, Sodelpa needs to change the racist divisive foundation it's vision, objectives and policies are built on. They need to move with the change in Fijian political landscape and embrace everyday issues. Maybe getting rid of the old tired politicians such as RTD and Lalabalavu would be a good start as the old party stigma somehow resonates around them. If they continue the way they have especially come next election, Sodelpa will follow suit to what occurred to SDL-dead in the woods. NFP is lucky to win 3 seats and they must strongly condemn and stir clear off anything Sodelpa. NFP must work hard now to win back part of the 90% Fijian votes of indo origin to do better in the next election.
God bless Fiji.
Ratu Naita
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