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NFP: Delay in appointment of Electoral Commission constitutes election rigging; We ask whom is Supervisor reporting to and taking directions?

20/1/2017

5 Comments

 
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The National Federation Party is deeply concerned at the delay by the Constitutional Offices Commission to appoint the Electoral Commission which is critical for preparations for truly credible, free and fair general elections.
 
The three year term of the Electoral Commission ended on 9th January 2017 and since then the Supervisor of Elections, who reports to the Commission and takes directions from it, has been left unsupervised and is carrying on with preparatory work for the elections.
 
We ask whom is the Supervisor reporting to and taking directions from? Is it the Minister responsible for Elections who happens to be the Attorney General as well as the General Secretary of the Fiji First Party?
 
The Constitutional Offices Commission is empowered under Section 13 of the 2013 Constitution to appoint the Chairperson and Members of the Electoral Commission. The COC is chaired by the Prime Minister and its members are the Attorney General, the Leader of the Opposition, two Members appointed by the President on the advice of the PM and one member appointed by President on the advice of the Opposition Leader.
 
The Member nominated by the Leader of the Opposition lawyer Richard Naidu resigned last year.  The current COC is therefore totally lopsided in favour of Government. We also note that the COC Chairperson who is the PM has been empowered to make acting appointments for a period of three months. He used this to appoint the Acting Commander of the Army in August 2015.
 
Why couldn’t the PM extend the term of the Chenn Bunn Young Chaired Commission for a three-month term using his powers, pending the Commission’s re-appointment or appoint a Commission for another three-year term?
 
It is deeply concerning that the Elections Office has been running without the constitutionally mandated oversight of the Constitutional Offices Commission especially when the Elections Office is already preparing for the 2018 elections.
 
The next scheduled general elections can be constitutionally held as early as April 2018, three and a half years into the term of the current Parliament. This is 15 months away. We cannot have the Supervisor of Elections running election preparations at his own discretion against a backdrop of clear conflict of interest from his Minister who is the general secretary of the governing Fiji First. 
 
Furthermore, the Court of Appeal judgment (Civil Appeal ABU 0069 of 2014) was crystal clear in its declaration when it said that:
‘The construction to be placed on sections 76(3) of the Constitution read with section 8(a) of the Electoral Decree requires the Supervisor to comply with all decisions and directions given to him concerning the performance of his functions by the Commission.’
 
This is a very clear direction from the Court of Appeal and their declaration read against the Constitution places the onus on the Prime Minister to ensure that these legal principles are upheld expeditiously.
 
An Electoral Commission is needed to ensure the implementation of Recommendations by the Multinational Observer Group (MOG) that observed the 2014 General Election and the 2014 annual report of the Electoral Commission itself.

We know the reports, after a delay, were referred to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights. The Committee’s Report should be tabled in the February sitting of Parliament because there was no time for delay if there had to be a truly credible and genuinely free and fair election next year.

The full implementation of the report is a prerequisite to our electoral integrity and for totally free and fair and robust debate among and between political parties and candidates and, most importantly, for the media to amplify, without fear, their voices to the public.

For the sake of transparency and accountability of the electoral process, there shouldn’t be any delay in the appointment of the Electoral Commission. Otherwise, any further delay will in our view constitute systematic election rigging by ignoring the need for the continuous existence of an independent institution.
 
Authorised by:
 
Professor Biman Prasad
NFP Leader
 

5 Comments
Lulu
21/1/2017 05:31:44 pm

Gotta love how the NFP is already talking about vote rigging and hinting this is why they're going to lose the next election :)

Reply
Fiji First Party
22/1/2017 11:46:05 am

The SOE Saneen reports to – his uncle, The Minister of Everything in Fiji – His Highness, the Honourable and the most pitiable IP Thief (Chor) Khaiyum.

The SOE Saneen is Khaiyum’s nephew, specially appointed by naked nepotism and is Khaiyum’s pet puddle to freely fiddle all Fiji’s elections fair.

Khaiyum and his Nephew are the Law and the decree. Khaiyum is indeed, above the Law and the decree. Khaiyum is the Fraud Constitution 2013 because he is the one who wrote it. Khaiyun reads it the Best and as he wishes.

Khaiyum appoints and fires Judges. He brings special ones from Sri Lanka for friends like Bala (and enemies, like Steven Singh). Judiciary has been on holiday in Fiji since 2009. And Justice Gates...Who..?

Reply
Epeli
22/1/2017 07:27:08 pm

Shouldn't a complaint be lodged at FICAC?

If it's not corruption then it's abuse of office

Reply
Gates CJ who?
23/1/2017 04:31:50 am

The commentator of First First Party makes some valid comments, especially regarding the state of the Fiji's judiciary. The civil and criminal courts are in a mess and the only person to be blamed is CJ
Gates who is the government's lap dog, travelling with ASK and his cronies to the UN to beat the trumpets of this chor government whose human rights record is abysmal.

He then makes submissions on legislation - something no judicial officer should ever dream of, given the separation of powers doctrine.

And like his master ASK, Gates has no shame, guilt or remorse in doing all this - thus bastardising the pious office of the CJ.

Gates presided over the constitutional case of the suspension of SODELPA's deputy leader and it is not hard to guess which way he will go - in favour of his master ASK and his chor government, of course.

What a shame!. This is the same CJ who admits new lawyers to the fiji Bar and at that ceremony would be singing like a canary about rule of law, human rights and justice for all!!!



Reply
Fiji First Party
23/1/2017 08:08:52 pm

Thanks for your encouragement buddy.

Frankly speaking, Justice Gates is a man of contradictions bordering on hypocrisy.

Firstly, Gates gives a landmark decision, of international acclaim, in the case of Chandrika Prasad, a refugee, against the State in 2000. Gates upholds the 1997 Constitution (and Constitutionalism) and declares that ‘no man” (or his monkey) “has powers to abrogate the 1997 Constitution”.

In the sixteen years hence –neither Gates himself nor any other Judge for that matter, has over-turned that fundamental dictum. That decision still holds. And a lot many of us, law-abiding, constitution-respecting, citizens of Fiji, believe in and relate to the basic sense of logic and morality behind that decision -upholding the supremacy of our Constitution.

We fail to comprehend how Justice Gates has continued to serve this Regime since 2009 without compromising his very own fundamental principles (dictums) of Law. He owes the People of Fiji and Chandrika Prasad and all the refugees at the Girmit Center and the Law fraternity, at large, a reason and rationale, an explanation, for his compromising actions. Or we would take his actions to mean ‘acts of self preservation and self-interests’.

But we cannot be given to gobble the myth that Khaiyum is a GOD –divinely empowered to abrogate the Peoples’ 1997 Constitution –and not only that - but write another FRAUD 2013 Constitution –and just like Rabuka’s FRAUD 1990 Constitution-and IMPOSE it on the People of Fiji. That’s a bit too much infringement against our Human Rights – Or is it not? Only the blooming eejiits don’t think so. Well too bad!

And in the meantime, as always, “The 1997 Constitution Lives”!!

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