The political careers of FijiFirst founders Voreqe Bainimarama and Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum have come to an infamous end with the party’s deregistration. Jioji Kotobalavu, a former permanent secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, highlighted the significant repercussions of this development.
According to Kotobalavu, the political saga of these two leaders started with the coup led by Bainimarama, the then military commander, in December 2006. This event overturned the democratically-elected multi-party government of prime minister Laisenia Qarase. FijiFirst experienced initial success in the 2014 General Election, winning 59% of votes and 32 parliamentary seats. This led to the creation of a democratically-elected government headed by Bainimarama and Sayed-Khaiyum, who held various ministerial roles.
However, since then, the party’s political power has been waning progressively. In the 2018 General Election, it secured only 50.02% of votes and 27 parliamentary seats, which further dwindled in the 2022 elections with a mere 42.55% of votes and 26 seats. It’s also been reported that FijiFirst incurred substantial debt and that Bainimarama, the former prime minister, was jailed for misusing public authority.
Due to these circumstances, Bainimarama and Sayed-Khaiyum resigned from both the party and Parliament, leaving the remaining 24 Members of Parliament to serve independently. Kotobalavu opines that it is highly unlikely that these former members will seek to revive the debt-ridden party.
He further added that the duo’s only legacy was the 2013 Constitution they imposed on the Fijian people. But even this may not endure as the Constitution requires amendments for improved governance.
The original article can be found on The Fiji Times.