Rabuka says PAP ready for crowded election field

The political arena for this year’s General Election is expected to be crowded, with a surge of new political parties seeking registration and signalling an increasingly competitive race for votes.

Prime Minister and People’s Alliance Party (PAP) leader Sitiveni Rabuka believes his party is well positioned to maintain its support despite the growing number of political players.

“We will hold our ground and we'll probably acquire some more from deserted grounds and deserted fields, and also converted,” Mr Rabuka said in an interview with this newspaper.

Candidate list grows

As preparations for the election gather pace, Mr Rabuka revealed that PAP already has 108 expressions of interest from prospective candidates.

“We have expressions of interest from all the 11 that were independent and are now working with us, so I’m encouraging all those that are sitting in Parliament now to stand again,” he said.

“They had four years of induction training into parliamentary processes and they should take advantage of the four years that they’ve had and apply for a ticket and we fill it up with those that have applied.”

Push for women candidates

Mr Rabuka said the party had specifically encouraged more women to put themselves forward as candidates.

“We called for women candidates and in the 108, I believe has got a good number of women candidates,” he said.

Leadership and party confidence

Asked whether he was confident of retaining the support of his party as leader, Mr Rabuka said the decision would ultimately depend on party members and election preparations.

“No, I don’t know,” Mr Rabuka said.

“It will depend on the votes. As we come closer, we may have to go for a party leader exchange. If they call for an emergency or a special general meeting to elect the team to run for the election and through election and form the new government, they can do that.”

Succession plan

Mr Rabuka also acknowledged the importance of succession planning as the party looks to the future.

“I had when we started, but that's a personal one. It's up to the party to have a succession plan,” he said.

The People’s Alliance Party is expected to officially launch its election campaign in the coming weeks.