Inia Seruiratu remains the Leader of Opposition despite the deregistration of FijiFirst, according to the perspective of Suva lawyer Richard Naidu. Naidu claims that Seruiratu’s role isn’t influenced by the party’s deregistration and he will retain his position unless a majority of Opposition MPs express their opposition to him towards the Speaker of Parliament.
Naidu referred to Section 78 of the Constitution, which states that the Leader of Opposition should have the backing of the majority of Opposition members. He mentioned that the seating leader continues even if ex-FFP Parliamentarians are no longer members. If they wish to replace Seruiratu, a majority of Opposition MPs must inform the Speaker in writing that the current Opposition Leader should be removed from his position, as per Section 78 (4) of the Constitution.
If this transpires, the Speaker is obligated to solicit nominations for the Leader of Opposition from the Opposition MPs. If there’s more than one nominee, an election would occur among the Opposition MPs to select a new Leader.