National Federation Party (Fiji)
Encyclopedia
The National Federation Party is a Fiji
an political party founded by A.D. Patel
in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party
. Though it claimed to represent all Fiji Islanders, it was supported, in practice, almost exclusively by Indo-Fijians whose ancestors had come to Fiji, mostly as indentured labourers, between 1879 and 1916.
(CSR) in 1960 regarding the new cane contract. In May 1959, all growers' unions decided to work together by forming the Federation of Cane Growers
but on 24 July 1960, Ayodhya Prasad
of Kisan Sangh
and Vijay R. Singh
of Labasa Kisan Sangh
, broke away and signed an agreement with CSR for the purchase of the 1960 crop. Tensions rose as Patel’s opponents, B.D. Lakshman
and Vijay R. Singh, accused him of again dividing the India
ns and leading them further into debt and some Fijian
s, including Ratu Kamisese Mara, made calls to have A.D. Patel deported. The Government appointed a commission of inquiry, headed by Sir Malcolm Trustram Eve, into the sugar industry. The Federation Committee was represented by A.D. Patel, assisted by S.M. Koya
. The finding of the commission was mostly against the demands of A.D. Patel.
The Federation Committee contested the 1963 Legislative Council
election under the banner of Citizens Federation. It was not a properly constituted political party but sought to promote economic, cultural and political progress and stability in a united Fiji. All three Citizen’s Federation candidates were elected to the Legislative Council. In the Western Constituency, A.D. Patel defeated Deo Sharma, president of the Kisan Sangh by 6244 votes to 3346, in the North Viti Levu Constituency, Sidiq Koya defeated James Shankar Singh
by 3,998 votes to 3,480 and in the Northern Constituency James Madhavan
defeated Harish Chandra Kohli by 2,753 votes to 2,175. There was no Citizens Federation candidate in the Southern Constituency, won by Andrew Deoki
.
The success of the Citizens Federation in the 1963 elections, and the impeding constitutional convention, prompted Patel to transform the Citizens Federation into a fully fledged political party. The Federation Party came into existence on 21 June 1964, with A.D. Patel as President and S.M. Koya as Vice-president.
constitutional conference. At the conference the main difference amongst the members was that while the Federation Party members asked for common roll and immediate independence, the others wanted only a minimal change to the existing constitution
.
The British
Government decided to introduce cross-voting as a compromise between the Fijian and European delegates on one side and the Indians on the other. According to the cross-voting system, multiracial
electorates voted for candidates of different ethnic groups. The Legislative Council was enlarged to 36 members, consisting of 14 Fijians (9 elected on communal roll, 3 on cross-voting roll and two nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs), 12 Indians (9 elected on communal roll and 3 on cross-voting roll) and 10 Europeans (7 elected on communal roll and 3 on cross-voting roll). Some of the non-contentious proposals by the Federation Party were accepted. These were the establishment of Public Service Commission, Police Service Commission and Judicial and Legal Services Commission and a Bill of Rights.
Ethnic tensions escalated following the adoption of responsible government
in 1967, when Patel's arch-rival, the Lauan
chief Ratu Kamisese Mara
was appointed Chief Minister
on 20 September. Mara's Alliance Party
was a coalition of indigenous and European factions, with minimal Indo-Fijian participation. Patel and the NFP were consigned to the opposition benches. In protest at the new government's refusal to call a second constitutional conference, Patel led the nine NFP legislators in a mass walkout in September 1967.
Missing two consecutive sections of the Legislative Council resulted in the forfeit of their seats, forcing by-election
s. The ensuing by-elections were marked by inter-ethnic violence. All nine NFP legislators were returned with increased majorities, the NFP winning 78.55% of the votes cast. A.D. Patel winning by 7903 votes to 2772 for M.V. Pillay. There were demonstrations by ethnic Fijians and calls to not renew native land leases and extreme elements called for Indians to be deported from Fiji. Relations between the Indo-Fijian and indigenous communities were at a new low.
The NFP, represented by most of its lawyer Councillors, took up the case on behalf of the farmers when arbitration proceedings were begun on 19 August 1969 for the new cane contract. NFP rejected the last cane contract, blaming it for leading the farmers deeper into debt, attacked the monopoly position of CSR, its secret accounting procedures, and concealed profits and asked for a fairer price for cane based on the price of sugar and its by-products. The Denning contract awarded the growers, 65% and the millers 35% of the proceeds of all sale, including molasses. It further guaranteed the growers a minimum price of $7.75 per ton of cane paid in two instalments. Denning commended A.D. Patel for having mastery of all the facts and problems of the sugar industry and presenting them with skill and understanding.
Patel died suddenly on 1 October 1969 and the leadership of the party passed on to its deputy, Sidiq Koya.
(comprising voters registered as members of a particular ethnic group) and a further 10 representing National constituencies
(distributed by ethnicity but elected by universal suffrage
) in the 52 member House of Representatives
. A further 8 seats would be reserved for General electors
(Europeans, Chinese, and other minorities); 3 of these would be "communal" and 5 "national."
With the leaders of both major ethnic groups working together for the first time in Fiji's history, the transition to independence was peaceful and the euphoria of independence continued for some time. Sidiq Koya travelled with the Prime Minister to India and the United Nations
and there was talk of a coalition government. There were those within the National Federation Party (NFP) who were not happy with the close relationship between Sidiq Koya and Ratu Kamisese Mara, the most notable of whom was R.D. Patel
, but for the time being dissent was not being expressed openly.
Leader, Sakeasi Butadroka
, was trying to do illegally." Thirdly, the Prime Minister rejected the recommendations of the Royal Commission which investigated the voting system, claiming that implementation of the recommendation would cause bloodshed in the country.
, however, a split in the ethnic Fijian vote enabled the NFP to win a plurality in the House of Representatives. Internal dissension, however, prevented the party from forming a government, as the party fractured over disputes about the leadership and the allocation of ministerial
positions. The Governor-General, Ratu Sir George Cakobau
, reappointed the defeated Prime Minister, Ratu Mara, and ordered a new election for September that year, in which the NFP was heavily defeated. For more information, see Fiji Constitutional Crisis of 1977
.
to resolve the impasse was held in September that year, resulting in a heavy defeat for the NFP after it had split into two factions known as the Dove
and Flower
factions. Koya lost his parliamentary seat to Jai Ram Reddy
, who became the new leader of the NFP. Koya's Dove faction had won only 3 seats compared to 12 won by the Flower faction.
Reddy followed a policy, which had been tried once before by Koya, that of moderation in which he sought to work with the Alliance Party to bring about change instead of resorting to the divisive policies of A.D. Patel and the later years of Koya's leadership. He enjoyed a brief period of honeymoon with the Alliance and there was again talk of a coalition
. Relations between the two sides deteriorated as the Alliance used its massive majority to push through legislations seen to be anti-Indian. In 1980, after Reddy criticised, Alliance's policy of reserving Crown land for use by ethnic Fijians only, he and Ratu Kamisese Mara were no longer on speaking terms.
The NFP re-united for the 1982 elections and came close to winning the election by winning 24 seats in coalition with the Western United Front (WUF)
. Reddy's disagreement with the Alliance Speaker
of the House led to his walkout in December 1983 and to resignation from parliament in April 1984.
Internal dissension reached a climax when a Koya supporter from Ba
, Dr Balwant Singh Rakkha
, was selected to contest the Lautoka
seat vacated by Reddy's resignation. The NFP Youth Wing, put up its own candidate, Davendra Singh
, a little known small businessman. The NFP Youth Wing had the support of the former Flower faction and also claimed Reddy's support. For his part, Reddy did not openly campaign for either candidate. During the campaign, Koya turned the election into a referendum on himself, and threatened to resign if Rakkha lost. The result was a win for Singh by a narrow margin but Koya did not go ahead with his threat.
With the emergence of Fiji Labour Party
(FLP), the NFP lost further ground. In the Suva City Council election of October 1985, it failed to field any candidate and the FLP won most seats and occupied the Lord Mayor
's chair. In the by-election for the North Central National Seat (based in Ba district), brought about by the resignation of Vijay R. Singh, the Alliance won by a narrow margin over the FLP candidate, Mahendra Chaudhry
. NFP was placed last. In December 1985, three prominent NFP parliamentarians resigned.
With his party falling apart, Koya resigned from the leadership of the NFP and was replaced by Harish Sharma
.
, therefore, they formed an electoral coalition with the Fiji Labour Party under the leadership of Timoci Bavadra
, an ethnic Fijian. The coalition won the election, but the new government was overthrown a month later in a military coup
led by Lieutenant Colonel
Sitiveni Rabuka
.
A new Constitution
was promulgated, providing for a built-in ethnic Fijian majority in the legislature. This condemned the NFP to permanent opposition
status. When the government agreed to revise the Constitution in 1997, however, the NFP, now led by Jai Ram Reddy, played a key role in the ensuing negotiations, which resulted in the removal of the guaranteed ethnic Fijian majority from Parliament. In the election
that followed in 1999, the NFP surprised many observers by forming an electoral coalition with the Fijian Political Party, led by their former enemy, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. This may have been a tactical mistake: many Indo-Fijians had not forgiven Rabuka for his role in the overthrow of the Bavadra government and the subsequent drafting of a constitution that they widely considered to be racist, and the NFP, for the first time in 36 years, lost all of its seats in the House of Representatives.
, on a platform calling for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to look into the Fiji coup of 2000
, which had deposed the elected government of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, the removal of Value added tax
from basic items, reduction of telephone and postal bills, national healthcare insurance for all workers, and consolidation of the independence of the judiciary. Its fortunes sank further, however. The NFP ended up with only about ten percent of the popular vote and only one parliamentary seat - which it subsequently lost in a court challenge. The party's refusal to agree to a preference deal with its one-time ally, the Fiji Labour Party, also worked against it. (Fiji has a system of preferential voting
, similar to Australia
's).
There have been signs of a modest revival of fortunes for the NFP. Municipal elections
in October 2003, for which the party formed an electoral coalition with Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase
's Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua
(SDL), gave the party control of six municipalities, either in its own right or together with the SDL. Its more significant victories included gaining control of the Nadi
Town Council and reelecting Chandu Umaria as Mayor of Suva
. In the 2005 municipal polls
, their performance was more modest, but Ba and Nadi remained in NFP hands, while an NFP/SDL coalition retained its hold on Sigatoka
. In Suva, despite losing some seats, the NFP still out-polled the Fiji Labour Party, its arch-rival for the Indo-Fijian vote.
Recently, the party has attempted to modernize itself. Under the presidency of Dorsami Naidu
, the party has made an effort to broaden its appeal to women and the disadvantaged. On 11 April 2005, Naidu announced that that NFP now regarded itself as a multiracial party and would attempt to win the support of all ethnic communities in Fiji.
, with the power (subject to presidential approval), to grant compensation to victims of the coup d'état that deposed the elected government in 2000, and amnesty
to persons convicted of offenses related to it. On 14 May 2005, Naidu called legislation to establish the commission "an act of terrorism", and on 20 May he went on to call for public demonstrations against the bill, which he said was "just a cover for providing amnesty to people who committed the May 2000 coup crime acts." On 27 June, Naidu announced that the NFP had started a petition against the bill, and expected to gather 150,000 signatures. The party was sending copies of the petition, along with a statement of the party's objections to the bill in English
, Fijian
, and Hindustani
to all schools, other organizations, and islands in Fiji. Naidu said the party was opposed not only to the amnesty provisions of the legislation, but also to its compensation provisions, saying that the taxpayer should not have to foot the bill. "Those part and parcel of the 2000 coup should have their properties seized and sold to pay compensation to those affected," Naidu said. He thought, moreover, that those wanting to claim compensation should do so through the courts. He said that the petition would be presented to the parliamentary committee on Justice, Law and Order, along with the party's submission.
on 31 July, Raman Pratap Singh
, a lawyer and former parliamentarian, was elected to replace him.
scheduled for 2006. On 12 August 2005, Pramod Rae said the party was experiencing financial difficulties. Speaking on Radio Sargam, he denied perceptions that the NFP was a "rich man's party" and said that sometimes it could not afford telephone bills, and was having to go door to door asking for donations to keep it going. Many businessmen who had once supported the NFP were now supporting the Fiji Labour Party (FLP), he lamented.
Under Fiji's so-called alternative ballot system, votes cast for low-polling candidates may be transferred to higher-polling candidates, as specified by the candidates. These transferred votes are known as "preferences." Rae said on 20 August that in pursuing negotiations with other parties for exchanges of preferences, the NFP would aim to hold the centre ground in Fijian politics and would forge alliances with parties that shared its philosophy. NFP Treasurer Ashok Bal Govind said on 21 October that neither the FLP nor the SDL had "good policies," and that the NFP would wait to see whether parties with "better policies" emerged before deciding on any electoral pacts. In the end, the NFP made arrangements with FLP candidates in some constituencies, and with SDL candidates in others.
, the general secretary of the party. "If you are going to pass this bill, do not count on us. We will not support you if you rail road this evil bill in Parliament."
Fiji Village
reported on 9 March 2006 that Prime Minister Qarase had offered the NFP Cabinet posts, assuming the party won parliamentary representation, in exchange for a preference deal.
According to the Fiji Sun (27 February 2006), NFP trustee Attar Singh accused the FLP of having stolen the NFP's 1982 election manifesto
and using it for the 1999 election. FLP Parliamentarian Lekh Ram Vayshnoi rejected the charge as false.
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
an political party founded by A.D. Patel
A.D. Patel
Ambalal Dahyabhai Patel, better known as A.D. Patel, was a Fiji Indian politician, farmers' leader and founder and leader of the National Federation Party. Patel was uncompromisingly committed to a vision of an independent Fiji, with full racial integration...
in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party
National Democratic Party (Fiji)
The National Democratic Party is the name of two political parties that have been formed in Fiji's history.The first National Democratic Party was formed in the early 1960s through a merger of Apisai Tora's Western Democratic Party with Isikeli Nadalo's Fijian National Party. It drew its support...
. Though it claimed to represent all Fiji Islanders, it was supported, in practice, almost exclusively by Indo-Fijians whose ancestors had come to Fiji, mostly as indentured labourers, between 1879 and 1916.
Formation of Federation Party
The formation of the Federation Party was a direct consequence of the dispute between cane farmers and the Colonial Sugar Refining CompanyColonial Sugar Refining Company (Fiji)
The Colonial Sugar Refining Company began operations in Fiji in 1880 and until it ceased operations in 1973, had a considerable influence on the political and economic life of Fiji. Prior to its expansion to Fiji, the CSR was operating Sugar Refineries in Melbourne and Auckland...
(CSR) in 1960 regarding the new cane contract. In May 1959, all growers' unions decided to work together by forming the Federation of Cane Growers
Federation of Cane Growers (Fiji)
The Federation of Cane Growers was formed as an umbrella organisation to negotiate the new cane contract due to take effect from 1960 with the Colonial Sugar Refining Company.- Negotiations for 1960 cane contract :...
but on 24 July 1960, Ayodhya Prasad
Ayodhya Prasad
Ayodhya Prasad Sharma was an Indo-Fijian farmers’ leader and politician, who formed the most successful farmers’ union in Fiji and forced the Colonial Sugar Refining Company to make concessions to farmers after 60 years of complete control over Fiji’s economy...
of Kisan Sangh
Kisan Sangh
Kisan Sangh was the first farmers' union formed in Fiji on 27 November 1937. This was the result of one man's determination to improve the plight of Fiji's Indian cane farmers...
and Vijay R. Singh
Vijay R. Singh
Sir Vijay Raghubar Singh, KBE was an Indo-Fijian lawyer and politician who held Cabinet office in the 1960s and 1970s. Vijay Singh served in Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara's government in a variety of positions, including Attorney-General, and was President of the Indian Alliance, a...
of Labasa Kisan Sangh
Labasa Kisan Sangh
The Kisan Sangh had been active in the Western Division of Fiji since 1937 but had not seen the need to expand its activities to other sugar cane growing districts because of transportation problems and the fact that the other districts combined had far fewer cane farmers thatn the Western Division...
, broke away and signed an agreement with CSR for the purchase of the 1960 crop. Tensions rose as Patel’s opponents, B.D. Lakshman
B.D. Lakshman
Brahma Dass Lakshman was an Indo-Fijian politician, union leader and businessman, who had a considerable influence on Fiji’s sugar industry.- Education and teaching career :...
and Vijay R. Singh, accused him of again dividing the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
ns and leading them further into debt and some Fijian
Fijian people
Fijian people are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. The Fijian people are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, though the exact origins of the Fijian people are unknown...
s, including Ratu Kamisese Mara, made calls to have A.D. Patel deported. The Government appointed a commission of inquiry, headed by Sir Malcolm Trustram Eve, into the sugar industry. The Federation Committee was represented by A.D. Patel, assisted by S.M. Koya
Sidiq Koya
Siddiq Moidin Koya was a Fijian Indian politician and Opposition leader. He succeeded to the leadership of the mostly Indo-Fijian National Federation Party on the death of the party's founder, A.D. Patel, in October 1969, remaining in this post until 1977...
. The finding of the commission was mostly against the demands of A.D. Patel.
The Federation Committee contested the 1963 Legislative Council
Legislative Council (Fiji)
The Fijian Legislative Council was the colonial precursor to the present-day Parliament, which came into existence when Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970.-The first Legislative Council:...
election under the banner of Citizens Federation. It was not a properly constituted political party but sought to promote economic, cultural and political progress and stability in a united Fiji. All three Citizen’s Federation candidates were elected to the Legislative Council. In the Western Constituency, A.D. Patel defeated Deo Sharma, president of the Kisan Sangh by 6244 votes to 3346, in the North Viti Levu Constituency, Sidiq Koya defeated James Shankar Singh
James Shankar Singh
James Shankar Singh was a Fiji Indian farmer, businessman, social worker and politician who served as a Minister in the Alliance Government of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara...
by 3,998 votes to 3,480 and in the Northern Constituency James Madhavan
James Madhavan
James Madhavan was one of the longest serving politicians in Fiji. He initially was a primary school teacher but when the Maha Sangh was formed in Labasa was one of its earliest members. Unlike, Viti Levu where it was mainly supported by South Indians, the Maha Sangh in Labasa had support from a...
defeated Harish Chandra Kohli by 2,753 votes to 2,175. There was no Citizens Federation candidate in the Southern Constituency, won by Andrew Deoki
Andrew Deoki
Andrew Indar Narayan Deoki was a Fiji Indian statesman who served his community as a social and religious leader, a soccer administrator, a member of the Legislative Council in colonial Fiji, a member of the Senate in independent Fiji and as the Attorney General.- Contribution to Soccer in Fiji...
.
The success of the Citizens Federation in the 1963 elections, and the impeding constitutional convention, prompted Patel to transform the Citizens Federation into a fully fledged political party. The Federation Party came into existence on 21 June 1964, with A.D. Patel as President and S.M. Koya as Vice-president.
1965 Constitutional Conference
When, in late 1964, when the Government announced a constitutional conference to decide on Fiji's move to independence, it asked each ethnic group to select its own delegates. A.D. Patel nominated himself and three other Federation Party members, James Madhavan, C.A. Shah (nominated Indian member who had joined the Federation Party) and S. M. Koya. It was claimed that these did not represent the Indian community and an impasse was avoided when it was decided to invite all unofficial members to the LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
constitutional conference. At the conference the main difference amongst the members was that while the Federation Party members asked for common roll and immediate independence, the others wanted only a minimal change to the existing constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
.
The British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Government decided to introduce cross-voting as a compromise between the Fijian and European delegates on one side and the Indians on the other. According to the cross-voting system, multiracial
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
electorates voted for candidates of different ethnic groups. The Legislative Council was enlarged to 36 members, consisting of 14 Fijians (9 elected on communal roll, 3 on cross-voting roll and two nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs), 12 Indians (9 elected on communal roll and 3 on cross-voting roll) and 10 Europeans (7 elected on communal roll and 3 on cross-voting roll). Some of the non-contentious proposals by the Federation Party were accepted. These were the establishment of Public Service Commission, Police Service Commission and Judicial and Legal Services Commission and a Bill of Rights.
From 1966 until the death of A.D. Patel
The outcome of the constitutional conference was a major issue during the election, which was the first election in Fiji contested on Party lines. The Federation Party was expected to win at least the three cross-voting seats in the western division because of its predominantly Indian population but managed to win only the 9 Indian communal seats. The Alliance Party won 22 seats but the three independents and the two Council of Chiefs nominees joined it to give it a total strength of 27. Ratu Kamisese Mara of the Alliance Party became the Chief Minister and A.D. Patel became the Leader of the Opposition.Ethnic tensions escalated following the adoption of responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
in 1967, when Patel's arch-rival, the Lauan
Lau Islands
The Lau Islands of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of the Koro Sea. Of this chain of about one hundred islands and islets, about thirty are inhabited...
chief Ratu Kamisese Mara
Kamisese Mara
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, CF, GCMG, KBE is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. He was Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992...
was appointed Chief Minister
Chief Minister (Fiji)
Fiji's British colonial rulers established the office of Chief Minister in October 1967, along with the Cabinet system of government. This was part of an ongoing move to forge modern political institutions to prepare Fiji for independence, which was granted on 10 November 1970.The Chief Minister,...
on 20 September. Mara's Alliance Party
Fijian Alliance
The Alliance Party, was the ruling political party in Fiji from 1966 to 1987. Founded in the early 1960s, its leader was Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the founding father of the modern Fijian nation...
was a coalition of indigenous and European factions, with minimal Indo-Fijian participation. Patel and the NFP were consigned to the opposition benches. In protest at the new government's refusal to call a second constitutional conference, Patel led the nine NFP legislators in a mass walkout in September 1967.
Missing two consecutive sections of the Legislative Council resulted in the forfeit of their seats, forcing by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
s. The ensuing by-elections were marked by inter-ethnic violence. All nine NFP legislators were returned with increased majorities, the NFP winning 78.55% of the votes cast. A.D. Patel winning by 7903 votes to 2772 for M.V. Pillay. There were demonstrations by ethnic Fijians and calls to not renew native land leases and extreme elements called for Indians to be deported from Fiji. Relations between the Indo-Fijian and indigenous communities were at a new low.
The NFP, represented by most of its lawyer Councillors, took up the case on behalf of the farmers when arbitration proceedings were begun on 19 August 1969 for the new cane contract. NFP rejected the last cane contract, blaming it for leading the farmers deeper into debt, attacked the monopoly position of CSR, its secret accounting procedures, and concealed profits and asked for a fairer price for cane based on the price of sugar and its by-products. The Denning contract awarded the growers, 65% and the millers 35% of the proceeds of all sale, including molasses. It further guaranteed the growers a minimum price of $7.75 per ton of cane paid in two instalments. Denning commended A.D. Patel for having mastery of all the facts and problems of the sugar industry and presenting them with skill and understanding.
Patel died suddenly on 1 October 1969 and the leadership of the party passed on to its deputy, Sidiq Koya.
NFP and Alliance work together to attain independence
The party played an important role in the negotiations that led to Fiji's independence from the United Kingdom in 1970. Their original demand for a universal franchise threatened to stall the independence process, but at a conference in London in April 1970, Sidiq Koya, eventually negotiated a compromise with Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the leader of the Alliance Party, the main ethnic Fijian-dominated party. According to this compromise, ethnic Fijians and Indo-Fijians would each be allocated 22 seats, with 12 representing Communal constituenciesCommunal constituencies (Fiji)
Communal constituencies have been the most durable feature of the Fijian electoral system. In communal constituencies, electors enrolled as ethnic Fijians, Indo-Fijians, Rotuman Islanders, or General Electors vote for a candidate of their own respective ethnic groups, in constituencies that have...
(comprising voters registered as members of a particular ethnic group) and a further 10 representing National constituencies
National constituencies (Fiji)
National constituencies are a former feature of the Fijian electoral system. They were created as a compromise between demands for universal suffrage on a common voters' roll, and for a strictly communal franchise, with Parliamentary constituencies allocated on an ethnic basis and elected only by...
(distributed by ethnicity but elected by universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
) in the 52 member House of Representatives
House of Representatives (Fiji)
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. It is the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone has the power to initiate legislation...
. A further 8 seats would be reserved for General electors
General Electors (Fiji)
"General Electors" is the term used in Fiji to identify citizens of voting age who belong, in most cases, to ethnic minorities. The Constitution defines General Electors as all Fiji citizens who are not registered as being of Fijian, Indian, or Rotuman descent. Also included are citizens who do...
(Europeans, Chinese, and other minorities); 3 of these would be "communal" and 5 "national."
With the leaders of both major ethnic groups working together for the first time in Fiji's history, the transition to independence was peaceful and the euphoria of independence continued for some time. Sidiq Koya travelled with the Prime Minister to India and the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and there was talk of a coalition government. There were those within the National Federation Party (NFP) who were not happy with the close relationship between Sidiq Koya and Ratu Kamisese Mara, the most notable of whom was R.D. Patel
R.D. Patel
Raojibhai Dahyabhai Patel was an Indo-Fijian lawyer and politician, who was better known as the younger brother of A.D. Patel. To distinguish between the two, he was generally referred to as R.D. Although he lacked his brother's charisma and oratorical skills, he was much loved and admired by...
, but for the time being dissent was not being expressed openly.
The 1972 general election
The first general election since independence was held in May 1972 without the ethnic tension characteristic of the 1966 general election and the 1968 by-elections. The NFP won only 19 of the 52 seats in the House of Representatives, with Alliance Party actually increasing its share of the Indian vote. After the election, R.D. Patel, one of Koya's critics within the NFP, was elected speaker of the House of Representatives.Worsening relationship between Koya and Mara
From mid-1975, the relationship between Koya and Mara worsened. This was firstly due to the announcement by the Minister of Education that the Government would not subsidise school fees for non-Fijians. Sidiq Koya called this "a blatant piece of racial injustice". Secondly when a former Alliance member moved a motion calling for the repatriation of people of Indian origin back to India, Koya was not happy with the measured response of the Alliance Government and accused it of "having elements which wanted to do legally what the Fijian Nationalist PartyFijian Nationalist Party
The Fijian Nationalist Party was a political party in Fiji, founded in 1975 by Sakeasi Butadroka, a parliamentarian who defected from the then-ruling Fijian Alliance, on a "Fiji for the Fijians!" platform. Its support peaked in the parliamentary election of March 1977, when it took 24.4 percent...
Leader, Sakeasi Butadroka
Sakeasi Butadroka
Sakeasi Butadroka was a Fijian politician noted for his strident ethnic nationalism. Originally elected to the House of Representatives as a member of the ruling Fijian Alliance in the parliamentary election of 1972, he was expelled from the Alliance for his public attacks against the presence of...
, was trying to do illegally." Thirdly, the Prime Minister rejected the recommendations of the Royal Commission which investigated the voting system, claiming that implementation of the recommendation would cause bloodshed in the country.
Split within NFP
The inability of the NFP to make significant inroads into the ethnic Fijian vote kept the party in opposition in the years following independence. In the March 1977 electionFiji election of 1977 (March)
General elections were held in Fiji between 19 March and 2 April 1977. A split in the ethnic Fijian vote, which saw 25 percent defecting to Fijian Nationalist Party of Sakeasi Butadroka, an extremist organization which advocated the "repatriation" of Indo-Fijians to India, led to the narrow defeat...
, however, a split in the ethnic Fijian vote enabled the NFP to win a plurality in the House of Representatives. Internal dissension, however, prevented the party from forming a government, as the party fractured over disputes about the leadership and the allocation of ministerial
Cabinet (Fiji)
Fiji has the Westminster system - executive authority is vested nominally in a President, but exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is formally appointed, but not chosen, by the President: the President must appoint as Prime...
positions. The Governor-General, Ratu Sir George Cakobau
George Cakobau
Ratu Sir George Kadavulevu Cakobau, GCMG, GCVO, OBE was Governor General of Fiji from 1973 to 1983. A great-grandson of Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the King of Bau who had unified all the tribes of Fiji under his reign in the mid-1800s and subsequently ceded the islands to the United Kingdom in...
, reappointed the defeated Prime Minister, Ratu Mara, and ordered a new election for September that year, in which the NFP was heavily defeated. For more information, see Fiji Constitutional Crisis of 1977
Fiji constitutional crisis of 1977
Fiji's parliamentary election of March 1977 precipitated a constitutional crisis, which was the first major challenge to the country's democratic institutions since independence in 1970....
.
NFP under the leadership of Jai Ram Reddy
A second electionFiji election of 1977 (September)
Early general elections were held in Fiji between 17 and 24 September 1977, following the impasse of an earlier election that had been held in March...
to resolve the impasse was held in September that year, resulting in a heavy defeat for the NFP after it had split into two factions known as the Dove
National Federation Party - Dove faction (Fiji)
The Dove Faction was one of the factions of the National Federation Party to contest the September 1977 elections in Fiji.Ever since the death of A. D. Patel and the elevation to the leadership of Sidiq Koya, there had been dissent within the NFP. There were accucations of Koya stacking the party...
and Flower
National Federation Party - Flower faction (Fiji)
The Flower Faction was one of the factions of the National Federation Party to contest the September 1977 elections in Fiji.Ever since the death of A.D. Patel and the elevation to the leadership of Sidiq Koya, there had been dissent within the NFP. There were accucations of Koya stacking the party...
factions. Koya lost his parliamentary seat to Jai Ram Reddy
Jai Ram Reddy
Jai Ram Reddy is an Indo-Fijian statesman, who has had a distinguished career in both the legislative and judicial branches of the Fijian government...
, who became the new leader of the NFP. Koya's Dove faction had won only 3 seats compared to 12 won by the Flower faction.
Reddy followed a policy, which had been tried once before by Koya, that of moderation in which he sought to work with the Alliance Party to bring about change instead of resorting to the divisive policies of A.D. Patel and the later years of Koya's leadership. He enjoyed a brief period of honeymoon with the Alliance and there was again talk of a coalition
Coalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
. Relations between the two sides deteriorated as the Alliance used its massive majority to push through legislations seen to be anti-Indian. In 1980, after Reddy criticised, Alliance's policy of reserving Crown land for use by ethnic Fijians only, he and Ratu Kamisese Mara were no longer on speaking terms.
The NFP re-united for the 1982 elections and came close to winning the election by winning 24 seats in coalition with the Western United Front (WUF)
Western United Front (Fiji)
Western United Front was an ethnically Fijian political party formed prior to the 1982 elections and contested the election in coalition with the National Federation Party .- The formation of the Party :...
. Reddy's disagreement with the Alliance Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the House led to his walkout in December 1983 and to resignation from parliament in April 1984.
Sidiq Koya's second term as party leader
Sidiq Koya, who had returned to Parliament in 1982 under a unified NFP, was elected the leader following Reddy's resignation. He was not far from controversy, and was accused of favouring his own supporters for crucial appointments within the party. He barred the NFP Youth Wing from a Working Committee meeting further raising allegations of dictatorial rule.Internal dissension reached a climax when a Koya supporter from Ba
Ba District, Fiji
Ba is a district situation on the North Western part of the island of Viti Levu in Fiji. The name Ba is also used for a province, a tikina , a town and a river. Ba district comprises the areas surrounding Ba Town and includes the Fijian administrative tikinas of Ba and Magodro. Ba district is in...
, Dr Balwant Singh Rakkha
Balwant Singh Rakkha
Balwant Singh Rakkha was a Fiji Indian medical doctor and a member of the House of Representatives of Fiji representing the National Federation Party , but he is best known for his strong support for the former leader of the NFP, Sidiq Koya and the split caused within the NFP when he was rewarded...
, was selected to contest the Lautoka
Lautoka
Lautoka is the second largest city of Fiji and the second largest in the South Pacific. It is in the west of the island of Viti Levu, 24 kilometres north of Nadi, and is the second port of entry in Fiji, after Suva. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane growing region, it is known as the Sugar...
seat vacated by Reddy's resignation. The NFP Youth Wing, put up its own candidate, Davendra Singh
Davendra Singh
Davendra Singh was a Fiji Indian small businessman and politician who came into prominence when he challenged and defeated the official National Federation Party candidate in a by-election in March 1985....
, a little known small businessman. The NFP Youth Wing had the support of the former Flower faction and also claimed Reddy's support. For his part, Reddy did not openly campaign for either candidate. During the campaign, Koya turned the election into a referendum on himself, and threatened to resign if Rakkha lost. The result was a win for Singh by a narrow margin but Koya did not go ahead with his threat.
With the emergence of Fiji Labour Party
Fiji Labour Party
The Fiji Labour Party is a political party in Fiji, which holds observer status with the Socialist International. Most of its support at present comes from the Indo-Fijian community, although it is officially multiracial and its first leader was an indigenous Fijian, Dr. Timoci Bavadra. It is...
(FLP), the NFP lost further ground. In the Suva City Council election of October 1985, it failed to field any candidate and the FLP won most seats and occupied the Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city, with special recognition.-Commonwealth of Nations:* In Australia it is a political position. Australian cities with Lord Mayors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong...
's chair. In the by-election for the North Central National Seat (based in Ba district), brought about by the resignation of Vijay R. Singh, the Alliance won by a narrow margin over the FLP candidate, Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Pal Chaudhry is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party...
. NFP was placed last. In December 1985, three prominent NFP parliamentarians resigned.
With his party falling apart, Koya resigned from the leadership of the NFP and was replaced by Harish Sharma
Harish Sharma
Harish Chandra Sharma was a Fiji Indian politician who became the leader of the National Federation Party in 1987 and was the leader of the organisation representing most of the Hindus in Fiji, the Shree Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji.- Early life :...
.
Coalition with FLP
For the 1987 electionFiji election of 1987
General elections were held in Fiji between 4 and 11 April 1987. It was historic in that it marked the first electoral transition of power in Fijian history...
, therefore, they formed an electoral coalition with the Fiji Labour Party under the leadership of Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Uluivuda Bavadra was a medical doctor who served for one month as the second Prime Minister of Fiji in 1987 and who founded the Fiji Labour Party....
, an ethnic Fijian. The coalition won the election, but the new government was overthrown a month later in a military coup
Fiji coups of 1987
The Fiji coups of 1987 resulted in the overthrow of the elected government of Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and in the declaration of a republic...
led by Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Sitiveni Rabuka
Sitiveni Rabuka
Major-General Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, OBE, MSD, OStJ, is best known as the instigator of two military coups that shook Fiji in 1987. He was later democratically elected the third Prime Minister, serving from 1992 to 1999...
.
A new Constitution
Constitution of Fiji
The 1997 Constitution of Fiji was the supreme law of Fiji from its adoption in 1997 until 2009 when President Josefa Iloilo purported to abrogate it. It was also suspended for a period following the 2000 coup d'état led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama....
was promulgated, providing for a built-in ethnic Fijian majority in the legislature. This condemned the NFP to permanent opposition
Opposition (politics)
In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...
status. When the government agreed to revise the Constitution in 1997, however, the NFP, now led by Jai Ram Reddy, played a key role in the ensuing negotiations, which resulted in the removal of the guaranteed ethnic Fijian majority from Parliament. In the election
Fiji election of 1999
General elections were held in Fiji between 8 and 15 May 1999. They were the first election held under the revised Constitution of 1997, which instituted a new electoral system and resulted in Mahendra Chaudhry taking office as Fiji's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister.-Electoral system:Previously,...
that followed in 1999, the NFP surprised many observers by forming an electoral coalition with the Fijian Political Party, led by their former enemy, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. This may have been a tactical mistake: many Indo-Fijians had not forgiven Rabuka for his role in the overthrow of the Bavadra government and the subsequent drafting of a constitution that they widely considered to be racist, and the NFP, for the first time in 36 years, lost all of its seats in the House of Representatives.
Since 2000
The NFP contested the 2001 electionFiji election of 2001
The Constitution of Fiji was restored by a High Court decision on 15 November 2000, following the failure of the political upheaval in which the government had been deposed and the constitution suspended in May that year. On 1 March 2001, the Appeal Court upheld the decision. An election to...
, on a platform calling for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to look into the Fiji coup of 2000
Fiji coup of 2000
The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of a non-native Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and...
, which had deposed the elected government of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, the removal of Value added tax
Value added tax
A value added tax or value-added tax is a form of consumption tax. From the perspective of the buyer, it is a tax on the purchase price. From that of the seller, it is a tax only on the "value added" to a product, material or service, from an accounting point of view, by this stage of its...
from basic items, reduction of telephone and postal bills, national healthcare insurance for all workers, and consolidation of the independence of the judiciary. Its fortunes sank further, however. The NFP ended up with only about ten percent of the popular vote and only one parliamentary seat - which it subsequently lost in a court challenge. The party's refusal to agree to a preference deal with its one-time ally, the Fiji Labour Party, also worked against it. (Fiji has a system of preferential voting
Preferential voting
Preferential voting is a type of ballot structure used in several electoral systems in which voters rank candidates in order of relative preference. For example, the voter may select their first choice as '1', their second preference a '2', and so on...
, similar to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's).
There have been signs of a modest revival of fortunes for the NFP. Municipal elections
Fiji municipal election, 2002
Fiji's municipal elections of October 2002 produced results that allowed three major political parties, the United Fiji Party , the Fiji Labour Party , and the National Federation Party to claim a victory of sorts...
in October 2003, for which the party formed an electoral coalition with Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase is a Fijian political figure. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase joined the Interim Military Government as a financial adviser on 9 June 2000, until his appointment...
's Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua
Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua
The Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua is a political party in Fiji...
(SDL), gave the party control of six municipalities, either in its own right or together with the SDL. Its more significant victories included gaining control of the Nadi
Nadi
Nadi is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Indian or Fijian, along with a large transient population of foreign...
Town Council and reelecting Chandu Umaria as Mayor of Suva
Suva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...
. In the 2005 municipal polls
Fiji municipal election, 2005
Municipal elections were held for 11 of Fiji's twelve city and town councils on 22 October 2005. In the capital city, however, elections for the Suva City Council were postponed till 12 November, owing to the death of two candidates; the death of a candidate in Lautoka also resulted in the...
, their performance was more modest, but Ba and Nadi remained in NFP hands, while an NFP/SDL coalition retained its hold on Sigatoka
Sigatoka
For the banana disease, see Black sigatoka.Sigatoka is a town in Fiji. It is found on the island of Viti Levu and is situated at the mouth of the Sigatoka River, after which it is named, some 69 kilometers from Nadi. In Fiji's last census the population of Sigatoka was at 9622...
. In Suva, despite losing some seats, the NFP still out-polled the Fiji Labour Party, its arch-rival for the Indo-Fijian vote.
Recently, the party has attempted to modernize itself. Under the presidency of Dorsami Naidu
Dorsami Naidu
Dorsami Naidu is a Fijian lawyer and politician. On 29 July 2005, he announced his intention to resign as President of the National Federation Party at the party conference on the 31 July, following his being taken in for questioning on assault and indecent assault charges, of which he has since...
, the party has made an effort to broaden its appeal to women and the disadvantaged. On 11 April 2005, Naidu announced that that NFP now regarded itself as a multiracial party and would attempt to win the support of all ethnic communities in Fiji.
The Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill
In 2005, the NFP has been at the forefront of opposition to the government's controversial proposal to establish a Reconciliation and Unity CommissionReconciliation and Unity Commission (Fiji)
The Reconciliation and Unity Commission is a proposed government body to be set up if the Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, which was introduced into the Fijian Parliament on 4 May 2005 is passed...
, with the power (subject to presidential approval), to grant compensation to victims of the coup d'état that deposed the elected government in 2000, and amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
to persons convicted of offenses related to it. On 14 May 2005, Naidu called legislation to establish the commission "an act of terrorism", and on 20 May he went on to call for public demonstrations against the bill, which he said was "just a cover for providing amnesty to people who committed the May 2000 coup crime acts." On 27 June, Naidu announced that the NFP had started a petition against the bill, and expected to gather 150,000 signatures. The party was sending copies of the petition, along with a statement of the party's objections to the bill in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Fijian
Fijian language
Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 450,000 first-language speakers, which is less than half the population of Fiji, but another 200,000 speak it as a second language...
, and Hindustani
Hindustani language
Hindi-Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language and the lingua franca of North India and Pakistan. It is also known as Hindustani , and historically, as Hindavi or Rekhta...
to all schools, other organizations, and islands in Fiji. Naidu said the party was opposed not only to the amnesty provisions of the legislation, but also to its compensation provisions, saying that the taxpayer should not have to foot the bill. "Those part and parcel of the 2000 coup should have their properties seized and sold to pay compensation to those affected," Naidu said. He thought, moreover, that those wanting to claim compensation should do so through the courts. He said that the petition would be presented to the parliamentary committee on Justice, Law and Order, along with the party's submission.
Party conference, July 2005
Naidu resigned from the presidency of the party in July 2005, following his arrest on common assault and sexual assault charges. At the party's annual conference attended by more than 600 delegates in NausoriNausori
Nausori is a town in Fiji. It had a population of 47,604 at the 2007 census, the most recent to date. This makes it the fourth most populous municipality in the country. Situated 19 kilometers out of Suva, it forms one pole of the burgeoning Suva-Nausori corridor.Nausori grew up around Fiji's...
on 31 July, Raman Pratap Singh
Raman Pratap Singh
Raman Pratap Singh is a Fijian lawyer and politician of Indian descent. His father, Ram Jati Singh, was a member of the Legislative Council, elected on the National Federation Party ticket. Raman contested the 1994 election on the NFP ticket, winning the Bua Indian seat in the House of...
, a lawyer and former parliamentarian, was elected to replace him.
Towards 2006
A priority for the NFP was to attempt to revive sufficient support to gain Parliamentary representation in the general electionFiji election of 2006
The Constitution of Fiji requires general elections for the House of Representatives to be held at least once every five years. The latest election was held on 6-13 May 2006. Acting President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi issued a proclamation on 2 March, effective from 27 March, dissolving Parliament...
scheduled for 2006. On 12 August 2005, Pramod Rae said the party was experiencing financial difficulties. Speaking on Radio Sargam, he denied perceptions that the NFP was a "rich man's party" and said that sometimes it could not afford telephone bills, and was having to go door to door asking for donations to keep it going. Many businessmen who had once supported the NFP were now supporting the Fiji Labour Party (FLP), he lamented.
Under Fiji's so-called alternative ballot system, votes cast for low-polling candidates may be transferred to higher-polling candidates, as specified by the candidates. These transferred votes are known as "preferences." Rae said on 20 August that in pursuing negotiations with other parties for exchanges of preferences, the NFP would aim to hold the centre ground in Fijian politics and would forge alliances with parties that shared its philosophy. NFP Treasurer Ashok Bal Govind said on 21 October that neither the FLP nor the SDL had "good policies," and that the NFP would wait to see whether parties with "better policies" emerged before deciding on any electoral pacts. In the end, the NFP made arrangements with FLP candidates in some constituencies, and with SDL candidates in others.
Negotiations with the SDL
At the August conference, the party decided that a preference deal with the ruling SDL in the parliamentary election scheduled for 2006 would be conditional on the government withdrawing its Reconciliation and Unity Bill. In the last election in 2001, a similar deal, which allowed votes cast for low-polling NFP candidates to be transferred to the SDL, was crucial to the SDL victory under Fiji's transferable voting system. "You are in power today because of our preferential votes NFP gave you in 2001," said Pramod RaePramod Rae
Pramod Kumar Rae is a Fijian trade unionist and political organizer of Indian descent. He was born in Suva and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree and Post Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of the South Pacific....
, the general secretary of the party. "If you are going to pass this bill, do not count on us. We will not support you if you rail road this evil bill in Parliament."
Fiji Village
Fiji Village
The Fiji Village is an online news service in Fiji. Published daily, it covers political, business, sporting, cultural, and other news items, and also includes the Yellow Bucket commentary, an editorial which does not necessarily reflect the views of the Fiji Village owners or staff, according to...
reported on 9 March 2006 that Prime Minister Qarase had offered the NFP Cabinet posts, assuming the party won parliamentary representation, in exchange for a preference deal.
Negotiations with the FLP
A meeting, described as a "courtesy call", took place between officials of the NFP and the FLP on 18 August 2005. Preferential voting was among the topics discussed, but no serious negotiations were entered into, with both parties indicating that such a move would be premature. Nevertheless, a flurry of media speculation followed, with several major news services reporting in early September that the two parties were close to reaching a deal. Comments by FLP officials led credence to these rumours. On 19 September, however, Pratap Singh distanced himself and his party from the speculation that a deal with the FLP was likely. The NFP did not believe that the FLP truly represented the Indo-Fijian community, he said, who had gained nothing from what he called the "confrontational" posturing of the FLP.According to the Fiji Sun (27 February 2006), NFP trustee Attar Singh accused the FLP of having stolen the NFP's 1982 election manifesto
Fiji election of 1982
General elections were held in Fiji between 10 and 17 July 1982. The paradoxical results were both a triumph and a setback for the Fijian Alliance Party of the Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. The Alliance captured an unprecedented 51.8 percent of the popular vote - the first time that it...
and using it for the 1999 election. FLP Parliamentarian Lekh Ram Vayshnoi rejected the charge as false.