Fiji Pre-election Merry-Go-Round, and some NZ-Pacific News

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Update. The Elections will be held on 14 November
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Two observers who will be part of the Multi-National Observer Group (MNOG) for the 2018 General Election received their accreditation  from the Fijian Elections Office today. Co-leaders of the MNOG are Australia, India and Indonesia.  

Chief Electoral Officer Mohammed Saneem has urged those of the 620,000 potential voters who have not yet registered to vote to do so  in one of the 41 registration centres  by the end of next week.  


Meanwhile,  the pre-election merry-go-round is in full throttle with Lynda Tabuya (SODELPA) and Ro Tupou Draunidalo (formerly SODELPA and now Hope Party leader)  attacking each other quite rudely when Draunidalo weighed in with comments on a dispute between SODELPA members Tabuya and "father of all the coups" Sitiveni Rabuka; NFP leader Dr Biman Prasad is talking to other parties about the possibility of forming a coalition (but complains there is no mechanism to do this before the election),  and  Unity Party leader Savenaca Narube spells out his concerns  that it will not be a fair election. 

Finally, all the opposition parties,  in an unusual act of unity,  politely accused the Electoral Office of  not running a fair election.

Incredibly, three (of the eight) political parties  have not yet registered their candidates. Prof Vijay Naidu urged them to get cracking.

And then the police refused a permit for trade union Suva march to protest issues affecting workers that are not being dealt with by Government: a $4 minimum wage, opportunities for collective bargaining, a delay in the Labour law review, the right to strike, and other issues.    

All legitimate issues they should be able to protest, but their timing just before the Elections was not well chosen -- unless they wished to influence the election results.



--  ACW

New Zealand and the Pacific

Parliament Speaker Trevor Mallard will lead a nine member  team of MPs from both sides of the House to Vanuatu and the Solomons next week. The MPs will view NZ aid projects, explore trade and investment possibilities while strengthening networks between parliamentarians of the three countries. Vanuatu sends 8,000 seasonal workers in Australia and NZ each year while the Solomon Islands sends only 1,000.

A three day conference on climate change concluded in Auckland this week. The experts considered what links may exist between climate change and conflicts and  what might happen when populations are forced to relocate or are not able to feed themselves. Prof Kevin Clement of Otago University hopes this will be the first of many such conferences to discuss practical options as the effects of climate change worsen.

Tokelau corruption. An investigation into the actions of a former senior civil servant in  Tokelau, allegedly responsible for illegally using millions of government dollars to buy helicopters and property in Samoa (sic!)  between 2014 and 2017 when he was dismissed, has been deferred. It cannot proceed until a backlog of government accounts  are audited.  The cause of this schmozzle is the failure by NZ and, to a lesser extent  Tokelau,  to insist on good governance and financial management practices. 

Atafu

Some background. Tokelau comprise three atolls - Atafu, Fakofo and Nukunonu - with a total  population of about 1,500. The highest point above sea level is only 5 metres.  Expected sea level rise as a result of climate change could see them totally submerged. The islands receive about $12 million in funding from NZ each year.  Tokelauans are NZ citizens and some 7,200 live in NZ, about five times more than live in the islands. It is the only country in the world where electricity is supplied solely by solar energy.