SODELPA’s general secretary Adi Litia Qionibaravi is tipped to get a ticket to contest the 2018 general election.

Inside sources say that Adi Litia has applied  and she wishes to contest with the backing of the Tailevu constituency.

Her name was among others discussed at a recent meeting of the Tailevu Constituency Council.

Although there is only one constituency in the national election, SODELPA has adopted the old system of multi constituency councils to cut cost and make campaigning easier.

All the prospective candidates who applied for a ticket to the party’s management board have been referred back to the 14 provinces where they come from, for their recommendation

Adi Litia is from Ucunivanua, Verata, Tailevu. She is a lawyer by profession and is a former civil servant and ex-CEO  of the then Fijian Affairs Board.

When contacted yesterday, Adi Litia said: “I will neither confirm nor deny either my or anybody elses’ expression of interest for the 2018 General Election. The information is privy to the Selection Candidate Committee.

“However, it is public knowledge that the Party Leader, Major General Rabuka, Hon. Viliame Gavoka, Vice President Anare Jale and Hon. Ro Kini Kiliraki have been endorsed as Candidates for the 2018 GE.”

Adi Litia was the architect of major reforms in the party. She oversaw the drafting of the revised party constitution which contained wide-ranging changes. The changes were designed to lift the party standards and profile to internationally accepted standards. The reformers believe that this is the only way the party would be able to give the FijiFirst Government a credible challenge in the next election. The changes strengthened accountability, transparency and integrity.

They led to Opposition Leader Ro Teimumu Kepa relinquishing the party leader post and the election of Sitiveni Rabuka to replace her. Adi Litia is a central figure in the party’s brains trust.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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