Tikoduadua challenges NFP to win 15 seats in 2027

National Federation Party (NFP) president Pio Tikoduadua has challenged the party to target 15 seats in the 2027 General Election, warning that failure to continue growing should prompt serious reflection about its future direction.

Speaking during the party’s working committee meeting at Penang Sangam School in Rakiraki on Saturday, Mr Tikoduadua said the NFP needed to transform itself to remain relevant to voters and build on gains made in recent elections.

“This is now the challenge for us in 2027. I think NFP should be running for 15 seats. If we can’t, then we need to seriously relook at ourselves because we need to be seen to continue to grow,” he said.

Founded in 1963, the NFP is Fiji’s oldest political party and has experienced varying fortunes at the polls over the decades.

Mr Tikoduadua, who is also the Minister for Defence, said the party had shown steady growth in recent elections but could not afford to become complacent.

“We’ve grown from 2014, and 2018, and 2022. We need to become better. We must create better versions of ourselves. That is what I’m asking of us today.”

He urged party members and committee representatives to focus on becoming more relevant to the communities they hoped to represent.

“Let me tell you, it’s not who we are or what we are. It’s how people perceive us to be,” he said.

“If they don’t feel their voices are heard here, then they will not come to us and vote.

“If they do not find their kind here — by kind, I mean youth, women, and people from all walks of life — they will not come here. So, this is the challenge to all of us today.”

Mr Tikoduadua called on party members to take the party’s message directly to communities across the country.

“Let’s do our forefathers some justice. Let’s transform ourselves so that, by our example, people will want to come to us,” he said.

“We are the best that Fiji has right now. But it is sad if we are going to lose good people because politics is all about people. Politics is all about persuasion. That is the work we need to go out and do.”