Mosese Bulitavu announced that he will serve as an independent member of the Opposition in support of Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. Ten additional Opposition MPs will be joining him, Bulitavu claimed, although their identities remain undisclosed. Bulitavu expressed uncertainty about the rules and implications of affiliating with other political entities.
Bulitavu is grappling with questions such as what happens if he aligns himself with a party he didn’t represent in the previous election, and whether joining another organization such as the People’s Alliance or Labour would result in a higher-voting member usurping his seat. He pointed to the need for clarification on these issues prior to MPs choosing to switch political alliances.
These changes follow the deregistration of FijiFirst, the party Bulitavu served in the 2022 General Election, which suffered this fate for not amending its constitution in compliance with the Supervisor of Elections. According to the Political Parties Act, deregistration allows a parliamentarian to either affiliate with another party or continue serving independently. Unfortunately, the 2013 Constitution offers no explicit directives on this matter.
Bulitavu, along with his colleagues, are obligated to inform the Speaker of Parliament about their political affiliation decisions.