The proposed FijiansFirst Party took the first formal step towards official recognition yesterday when founding member and general secretary Ravindran Kumaran, accompanied by Member of Parliament Ketan Lal, lodged an application for registration with the Fijian Elections Office.
Registrar of Political Parties Ana Mataiciwa confirmed receipt of the paperwork and said the office is preparing to publish the application in a newspaper and in the Fiji Government Gazette as required under the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Act 2013. That publication will trigger the statutory objections period, she said.
“During the objections period, any person may submit a written objection to the Registrar regarding the party’s application for registration,” Mataiciwa told reporters. She outlined the timetable set out in the Act: once objections are received, the registrar must assess and determine all objections within seven days of receipt, having first given the proposed party an opportunity to respond. Both objectors and the applicant party will be notified once the assessment is complete.
If the application clears the objections stage, Mataiciwa said the Registrar will then determine whether the Proposed FijiansFirst Party meets the requirements for registration under the Act. The process — from publication through the short objections window and rapid assessment — is designed, she added, to ensure accountability and public participation in the formation of new political parties.
The submission comes amid a recent period of party activity in Fiji. In January, the People First party was registered after its application and subsequent objections were considered by the Registrar; that decision increased the tally of registered parties at the time. In that case, objections relating to the party’s name, symbol and constitution were dismissed, and those who had lodged objections still had the option of appealing the Registrar’s decision to the Electoral Commission within 14 days. The People First example underscores that objections can be raised and tested under the law, and that an appeal pathway exists following a registration decision.
Kumaran and Lal’s application signals another potential change to Fiji’s political landscape as parties organise ahead of future electoral contests. The Registrar’s invocation of statutory publication and the condensed seven-day objections assessment reflect legislative priorities for transparency and swift resolution. Observers and political operators will now be watching the public notices and any objections lodged during the coming statutory period to see whether FijiansFirst moves on to full registration.
At this stage the FijiansFirst Party remains a proposed entity; the formal registration outcome will hinge on the completion of the publication, any objections raised, the Registrar’s assessment and any subsequent appeals permitted under the Act.
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