FijiFirst Party Deregistered, Opposition to Serve as Independent MPs
“As the party had not complied with this requirement, FijiFirst is hereby deregistered effective immediately, in accordance with section 12(4) of the Act.”
Tuesday 02 July 2024 | 11:39
From left: Opposition MP Alvick Maharaj, Opposition MP Penioni Ravunawa and Senior Opposition MP Jone Usamate.
The Opposition caucus is now without a party, and its Members of Parliament (MPs) will serve as independent MPs, as they have yet to meet as a caucus regarding their deregistration.
Supervisor of Election (SoE) Ana Mataiciwa revealed yesterday that FijiFirst is now deregistered as a political party.
Ms Mataiciwa was expected to issue a release last Friday regarding FijiFirst’s deregistration as the deadline was 4pm.
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A media release yesterday stated Ms Mataiciwa acted with her power under Section 12(4) of the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding & Disclosures) Act, 2013.
FijiFirst was advised by Ms Mataiciwa to amend their party constitution concerning the process of dealing with members’ grievances.
The flaw in the party constitution lead to its deregistration.
“The party was given until 4pm Friday, June 28, 2024, to make the necessary amendments,” Ms Mataiciwa said.
“As the party had not complied with this requirement, FijiFirst is hereby deregistered effective immediately, in accordance with section 12(4) of the Act.”
Opposition MPs
Senior Opposition MP Premila Kumar said Opposition MPs are yet to decide on their next step now that the party is deregistered.
“It’s an end of a party that did so much for Fiji under our leader Voreqe Bainimarama,” Ms Kumar said.
“We will remain in the Opposition, at least I will remain in the Opposition, and we will serve the people the way we were serving until now.”
“As former FijiFirst MPs we need to come together and make decisions collectively on our future. For now, nothing changes. We will continue to operate as Opposition independent members.”
Senior Opposition MP Jone Usamate said they now respect the decision made by the SoE and will continue to carry out their mandated parliamentary duties.
Opposition MP Alvick Maharaj said they will continue to carry out the work under FijiFirst principles.
“It’s sad that the party has been deregistered. The legacy of FijiFirst should not have ended like this,” Mr Maharaj said.
“The constitution of FijiFirst was designed as such, that even if we wanted to save the party, we could not have done anything as members of FijiFirst.
“We still believe and stand for the values and principles of the party and party leader Mr Bainimarama, and we will continue to uphold the 2013 Constitution until we serve in Parliament.”
Opposition MP Penioni Ravunawa said: “Now that this is official from SoE, we will be able to look at the options available to independent MPs as per the electoral Act.”
Feedback: jone.salusalu@fijisun.com.fj
