No party name has been reserved by former Opposition Leader Sitiveni Rabuka, says Registrar of Political Parties Mohammed Saneem.

Mr Saneem said Mr Rabuka reached out to him asking questions about the proposed name of the party he intends to form.

“I have informed him that he is to obtain independent legal advice from a legal practitioner,” Mr Saneem said.

“I can further confirm that at this point no name has been reserved by Mr Rabuka.”

Mr Rabuka took to social media on Tuesday asking supporters to stop “jumping the gun” and freely using ‘alliance’ as a likely name for the party he will form.

“It is a crime against the Registration of Political Parties Act to ‘pretend’ to be a Party and advertise, solicit support or funds, etc before the party and party name are cleared by the Registrar of Political Parties,” Mr Rabuka said on Facebook.

“I spoke to the Registrar yesterday January 4, 2021 and he has advised me on what to do while getting all set to register my new political party.

“I ask all administrators of pages using the name or linking my name to a political party that has not been registered to take down their pages or posts until we are within the laws to use a name.

“I will let you all know as soon as we have a name reserved and when it is registered.”

Mr Rabuka refused to comment on the matter yesterday when he was approached at his residence.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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