Chaudhry rules out pre-election coalition deal

Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry has ruled out any pre-election coalition agreement with other political parties, saying Labour’s priority is to secure an outright majority at the coming election.

Speaking at the party’s annual general meeting in Lautoka yesterday, Mr Chaudhry dismissed claims that Labour would form a coalition with new parties emerging from the former FijiFirst grouping.

“We should not be distracted by this or that. I know new parties are registering. The old FijiFirst is now fractured into three segments, and they are trying to say that if they win, they will coalesce with Labour,” he said.

“No, we have no coalition agreement with anybody. So don’t let them fool you that they will have a coalition with Labour. Right now, Labour is no coalition.”

Mr Chaudhry said Labour was instead focused on maximising its support and winning enough seats to govern on its own.

“We want to have an absolute majority,” he said.

However, he did not rule out a coalition after the election if one became necessary.

The party will finalise its candidates before holding detailed discussions on its policies and campaign messaging.

Meanwhile, the party elected new officials for its Lautoka branch yesterday.

Narendra Sharma was elected president, with Ajend Kumar as vice-president, Steven Singh as secretary and Anup Prasad as treasurer.

Mohammed Shameem, Pramod Kumar, Priya Singh, Milika Nasilivata, Anita Nand and Ronald Prasad were elected committee members.