Members of Parliament (MPs) previously under the Opposition party will now serve independently due to the deregistration of FijiFirst as a political party, as confirmed by the Supervisor of Election (SoE), Ana Mataiciwa. She was expected to release a statement on FijiFirst’s deregistration last Friday, the deadline set for the needed amendments.
FijiFirst was advised to revise their party constitution to better address member grievances, and failure to comply led to their deregistration. Despite their party’s end, Opposition MPs have yet to finalize their future course of action. Premila Kumar, a senior Opposition MP, stated they would continue to serve the public as independents and make collective decisions about their future.
Similarly, other Opposition MPs like Jone Usamate and Alvick Maharaj expressed respect for the SoE’s decision and committed to upholding the principles of FijiFirst. They intend to perform their parliamentary duties and explore options available as independent MPs under the electoral Act.