People First works to secure election campaign funding

The People First Party (PFP) is working to secure funding to strengthen its preparations for the 2027 General Election, says party leader Inia Seruiratu.

Speaking exclusively to Fiji Sun during his recent visit to Vanua Levu, Mr Seruiratu said securing financial support remained a priority to ensure the party was adequately prepared for the election campaign.

"In the PFP headquarters in Suva, we are sorting out a few things, we need funding and this is particularly very important, we need to and hopefully secure funding".

He said the timely preparation of the party's manifesto was also crucial to ensuring voters understood its policies and proposals ahead of the election.

"Manifesto preparation are currently being undertaken with finalisation expected once the final election dates are announced," he said.

Mr Seruiratu said morale within the party remained high, with confirmed provisional candidates preparing for the election.

"We are undergoing a lot of activities in order to prepare for the election accordingly," he said.

As political parties continue their election preparations and grassroots engagements, the Opposition Leader expressed hope that the election would be held within the timeframe stipulated under the 2013 Constitution.

Additional candidates

Mr Seruiratu said the party was also working to finalise another batch of provisional candidates following the announcement of its first lineup during the party's launch on August 1.

"We are still in the process of selecting more candidates and we are hopeful of doing it immediately".

He said the PFP aimed to field a full lineup of 55 candidates to contest all parliamentary seats, with a particular focus on increasing the participation of women and young people.

"Hopefully we can get a strong lineup of 55 PFP candidates eager to contest for each seat with special emphasis on more women and youth participation to become candidates," he said.

Confirmed provisional candidates include former FijiFirst members and current Independent Opposition Members of Parliament Parveen Kumar, Rinesh Sharma, Alvick Maharaj, Joseph Nand, Virendra Lal, Hem Chand, Vijay Nath and Semi Koroilavesau.

The lineup also includes other provisional candidates announced during the party's launch on August 1.

Branch setup for visibility

Mr Seruiratu said the party planned to establish branches across Fiji's four major divisions to strengthen its presence and engagement with communities.

"Setting up our branches will be vital to connect with communities at grassroots level to provide a platform for discussion and engagement of community issues faced by people," he reiterated.

He said the branches would allow the party to better understand the challenges facing communities and identify areas where its proposed policies and reforms could make a difference.

"As People First Party (PFP) we need to connect with our people, we need to hear people's sentiments and how we can better serve them".

When asked when the branches would be established, Mr Seruiratu said the process was ongoing, with the party hoping to complete the work at the earliest opportunity.

"Following the branch setups, we will be able to identify the voting constituency within the provinces and divisions which will link them to their national congress".

Meanwhile, confirmed provisional candidates have already begun conducting individual home and community visits as part of the party's election preparations.

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