The Opposition caucus in Fiji now operates without a party, and its Members of Parliament (MPs) will serve as independents following their deregistration. Supervisor of Election (SoE) Ana Mataiciwa announced yesterday that FijiFirst has been deregistered as a political party. The announcement came after the deadline set for amendments to the party’s constitution, which was 4pm last Friday.
Mataiciwa used her authority under Section 12(4) of the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding & Disclosures) Act, 2013. FijiFirst was instructed to amend their party constitution to address members’ grievances. However, failing to comply with this directive led to the party’s deregistration.
“The party had until 4pm Friday, June 28, 2024, to make the necessary amendments,” Mataiciwa said. “As the party did not meet this requirement, FijiFirst is hereby deregistered effective immediately, in accordance with section 12(4) of the Act.”
Senior Opposition MP Premila Kumar mentioned that Opposition MPs have yet to decide their next steps following the deregistration. “It’s an end to a party that did so much for Fiji under our leader Voreqe Bainimarama,” Kumar said. “We will remain in the Opposition and serve the people as we have until now. As former FijiFirst MPs, we need to come together and decide our future collectively. For now, nothing changes. We will continue to operate as independent Opposition members.”
MP Jone Usamate stated that they respect the decision made by the SoE and will continue their parliamentary duties. MP Alvick Maharaj noted that they will continue to uphold the principles of FijiFirst. “It’s sad that the party has been deregistered. The legacy of FijiFirst should not have ended like this,” Maharaj noted. “The constitution of FijiFirst was designed such that even if we wanted to save the party, there was nothing we could do as members. We still uphold the values and principles of the party and our leader Mr. Bainimarama, and will continue to honor the 2013 Constitution while serving in Parliament.”
MP Penioni Ravunawa stated, “Now that this is official from SoE, we will explore the options available to independent MPs as per the electoral Act.”