Ten opposition MPs contribute $73,001 to People First

Ten opposition Members of Parliament contributed a combined $73,001 to People First between April and December last year.

This is according to newly released financial records released by the Fijian Elections Office (FEO) yesterday under the Political Parties Act.

The disclosures reveal that Opposition Leader Inia Seruiratu, MP Vijay Nath and MP Virendra Lal each gave the most — $9,000 apiece — contributing every month from April to December 2025.

MP Alvick Maharaj contributed $8,000. MPs Semi Koroilavesau, Jone Usamate, Parveen Bala, Joseph Nand, and Rinesh Sharma each contributed $7,001 or $7,000.

MP Hem Chand gave only $4,000 — only contributing from May to August before stopping.

In an interview yesterday, Mr Chand confirmed he had stopped giving.

"Yeah, I am not giving any contributions at the moment," he said, adding he was undecided on whether to contest the next election.

Mr Koroilavesau said his contributions were voluntary and did not mean he would stand.

"Even if I want to stand, there has to be a selection panel that decides on that," he told this masthead.

The records show People First holds $32,294 in its bank account and total assets of $40,125.

Notably absent from the contributions list are other MPs frequently identified within the opposition bloc aligned with Mr Seruiratu — including Premila Kumar and Faiyaz Koya.

Attempts to contact Mr Seruiratu were unsuccessful.

People First, registered in January this year, was formed by MPs who previously served under the now-deregistered FijiFirst party — which governed Fiji for nearly a decade under former Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama.

Mr Seruiratu, who leads the group, has insisted the new party has "broken clean" from FijiFirst's former leadership.

The Registrar will verify the published particulars for compliance. Members of the public can contact the FEO on 3316225 or email ana.mataiciwa@feo.org.fj.