SODELPA CHANGES TUNE
SODELPA has changed its tune on a proposal to appoint a deputy leader. Soon, party leader Sitiveni Rabuka will have a deputy.
At the annual general meeting at Namoli Village, Lautoka in June, a motion by the Naitasiri Constituency to have a deputy leader was rejected.
The motion was to prepare the party in case Mr Rabuka loses his court case and his leadership. Mr Rabuka is charged with one count of providing false declaration of assets, income and liabilities under the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Act of 2013. He has pleaded not guilty.
The Naitasiri motion also proposed that a youth advocate be deputy leader to give youths a voice. The party has now put out a notice that a special General Assembly will be held on September 1, at Nawanawa Hall in Nadera at 10am to discuss the issue.
The only substantive item on the agenda is a special resolution to amend the party constitution “to establish the Deputy Leader position and to establish a mechanism to enable acting appointments on vacancies in offices established under the constitution.”
The agenda is silent on whether there will be an election to choose Mr Rabuka’s deputy in the same meeting. This is a significant change in position for the party.
The Special Resolution provision is under section 12.8 and section 27 of the party constitution.
There was a strong lobby against the deputy leader idea from the youth wing when it was first raised at the Namoli meeting.
The motion was countered by another motion to expel Sainiana Radrodro, wife of MP Aseri Radrodro from Naitasiri.
Edited by Jonathan Bryce
