17 FijiFirst MPs Dispute Legality Of Termination

Terminated Opposition Member of Parliament Jone Usamate last night confirmed that he and 16 fellow FijiFirst MPs who received their termination letters last night were disputing the legality of their termination.

Mr Usamate confirmed that they had received their letters from the acting General Secretary of the party Faiyaz Koya notifying them that their seat in parliament had been vacated.

On Sunday, Party President Ratu Joji Satakala issued a statement outlining that 16 of the FijiFirst members of Parliament went against the FijiFirst position and directive by voting for the salary and benefit increase.

Mr Satakala in his statement said that all FijiFirst members of Parliament were directed in writing during a caucus meeting last Friday not to vote.

He said the written directive was from the acting General Secretary to vote against or abstain from voting on the salary and benefit increase for the Members of Parliament.

“We are disputing the legality of the termination letter and as far as we are concerned we are still members of Parliament,” Mr Usamate said.

“We will await the full process of the law to take its course,” he said.

The 2013 Constitution states:

63.—(1) The seat of a member of Parliament becomes vacant if the member—

(h) votes or abstains from voting in Parliament contrary to any direction issued by the political party for which he or she was a candidate at the time he or she was elected to Parliament, without obtaining the prior permission of the political party.

The members that the party claimed voted against the directive were: Mosese Bulitavu, Sanjay Kirpal, Semi Koroilavesau, Shalen Kumar, Virendra Lal, loane Naivalurua, Sachida Nand, Vijay Nath, Viliame Naupoto, Ratu Josaia Niudamu, Penioni Ravunawa, Taito Rokomatu, Inia Seruiratu, Alipate Tuicolo, Naisa Tuinaceva and Jone Usamate.

The seventeenth member who was terminated was Alvick Maharaj who abstained in the vote.

The possible replacements are: 

Veena Bhatnagar, Taito Rokomatu, Eliane Veena Chandra, Riddhi Divyesh Damodar, Jale Sigarara, Mohammed Rafiq, George Vegnathan, Selai Adimaitoga, Howard Politini, Penijamini Vukivou, Jagdish Chand, Mohammed Zuhayr Khan, Vereniki Sauturaga, Bhawini Devi Narayan, Ratu Ralawa Tabakau, Meleti Raimuria, and Jacob Joseph Abraham.

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