“It is likely to be confused with or mistaken for FijiFirst. FijiFirst is the only political party with two words in it, with the word ‘party’ not in it and with the word Fiji in. FijiFirst is the political party which has its name also as the logo. FijiFirst connotes or signifies that the party puts Fiji first. The other words has the country of Fiji first and its people, the Fijians. The Proposed OneFiji seeks to portray this idea while the philosophy behind this idea may not be exclusive to any political party. It is the manner in which this idea is manifested in the name of a political party that is the issue. The logo of the proposed OneFiji party only had “OneFiji” and the rainbow; this manner, was very similar to how the FijiFirst had been laid out. OneFiji is put as one word similar to FijiFirst, and the beginning of the two words (one and Fiji) are capitalised as in FijiFirst. Furthermore, the word ‘One’ in the name OneFiji party is similar to the word ‘First’. Colloquially, everyone regards or equates the word ‘First’ to be one or number one. In this instance the voter could be misled to believe that FijiFirst and proposed OneFiji are the same. Accordingly we object to the registration of the name OneFiji party and its logo OneFiji.” Khaiyum to his hand-picked Supervisor of Elections poodle and first time voter Saneem |   |
ONEFIJI Party to Saneem: No political party (Fijifirst) should have monopoly of an idea; throw out Khaiyum's objection, and go and consult Oxford English Dictionary about the meaning of FIRST and ONE!
The ballot papers filled with numbers and without names or logos will not cause any confusion to voters during election, says the registered officer of the proposed One Fiji Party Sitiveni Kalou: “The Ballot paper will not contain party names, symbols, or even candidate names, so there is no chance of confusion under those factors. As we are sure the FijiFirst Campaign will be clear and concise in its delivery as well. No political party has a monopoly and should not be allowed to have a monopoly of an idea, as ideas are innovations in nation building which should be encouraged and promoted. Any number of political parties may not have ‘party’ in their names (if they all perceive themselves more as a movements, for example), just as a number of parties do have them most probably because they consider themselves as a party first and foremost. Any number of political parties may have two words in their names; just as a few have three words in theirs. In fact, if a number of associations find one word that reflects their reason for being; then they should be permitted to do so...One Fiji perfectly reflects our ideology of the uniqueness and oneness as a society and nation, and has nothing to do or to be confused with those of the objectors. Kalou said the names were different and had different meanings where FijiFirst connotes or signifies that the party puts Fiji first. “First in the Oxford dictionary means-Coming before all others in time or order; earliest”. “Whereas One Fiji connotes or signifies the promotion of a single, unique, focused, and united Fiji. He said “One” in the Oxford dictionary means “A single person or thing; just one as opposed to any more or to none at all; single.” He adds “One and First do not mean the same and cannot possibly cause any confusion; ‘First’ is who came ahead of others, while ‘One’ is by itself and always will stand alone. “FijiFirst may be meant to connote putting Fiji as a nation, or Fijians as a people, first as they claim. But it ends there. “One Fiji is about the uniqueness of Fiji and Fijians as well as their oneness; how they came to be, how they are, and how they should be as a people, as a society, as a nation,” Kalou said. He said One Fiji connotes how the members see Fiji now and in the future; the choice of words and construction are deliberate and essential to the name and The rainbow represents their break from the past or the end of the old ways of seeing and doing things, and the promise and the seedling represents the birth of the One Fiji movement and realization of the promise. “The Party is only the vehicle for the movement, hence the absence of the word “Party” from the logo. “The acronyms and/or abbreviations are different: The acronyms for One Fiji are “OFP”. The acronyms for FijiFirst is definitely not “OFP” He has also highlighted that the symbol is the word FijiFirst and a variant of the national flag. Kalou also stated that their logo is OneFiji which is a variation from the rainbow and the budding flora. “In conclusion, the objection registered with your office by FijiFirst should be dismissed based on the argument and response above; and the following: (a) Similar objections made to the FijiFirst registration petition were dismissed by the Fijian Elections Office, so precedence has already been created by the Fijian Elections Office. (b) The Proposed One Fiji Party constitution states the official name of the Proposed Party is “One Fiji Party”; so on that fact alone the objection is in error, and is addressing a non-issue; as the official party name contains three words and not two.
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