Elections Office Have Not Received Ro Teimumu's Resignation from SODELPA
Acting SoE calls on board members affiliated to political parties to resign from party
Thursday 19 October 2023 | 09:55
Acting Supervisor of Elections Ana Mataiciwa and Tertiary Scholarship and Loan Scheme (TSLS) chair Ro Teimumu Kepa. Photo: Ronald Kumar
Comply with the law!
This was the reminder from Acting Supervisor of Elections Ana Mataiciwa to political party members before taking up board membership roles in statutory organisations.
Ms Mataiciwa confirmed that the Fijian Elections Office (FEO) had not received any notice of resignation from Ro Teimumu Kepa.
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Ro Teimumu is a member of SODELPA’s Management Board – the highest authority of the Party. She assumed the Tertiary Scholarship and Loans Scheme board chair role last Friday.
She is also a board member of Airport Fiji Limited. Ro Teimumu needs to resign as a management board member of SODELPA to become a board member of any statutory organisation as stipulated in the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Act.
According to Section 14(1) of the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Act 2013, a public officer shall not be eligible to be an applicant, member or hold office in a registered political party.
The Act further defines a public officer to include any person holding any office or membership of a statutory authority, a commission or a board established by or continued in existence by any written law.
“We have followed up with SODELPA and are awaiting confirmation on whether a notice has been submitted to them,” Ms Mataiciwa said.
“We have been telling political parties of this legal requirement and the need for their members to adhere to it.
“If there is any complaint received with regards to those political party members breaching this legal requirement, we will not hesitate to deal with the complaint and escalate it to the relevant authority for further investigation.”
Ro Teimumu responds
In an interview yesterday, TSLS board chair Ro Teimumu Kepa confirmed she has not resigned from SODELPA.
She said anyone who needed clarification on the legality of her appointment should go and ask the Attorney-General.
“For that question, you have to ask the new A-G because the new A-G has been appointed, it’s a question that deals with law,” she said.
“Just like the Assistant Minister for Finance, he is a member of a party he came through a party pathway now he is an Assistant Minister, should we ask them to resign too because they are members of the political parties? Why are you people targeting me?”
Villame Waka
SODELPA general secretary, Viliame Waka, confirmed that Ro Teimumu was a member of the party’s management board and had not resigned.
“We knew about her appointment last week when she took the position as chair of the board, but we haven’t received a letter from Ro Teimumu regarding her resignation,” he said.
Mr Waka will meet with Ro Teimumu to address this issue in compliance with the Political Parties Act.
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