Tell Me, Thy Lord, When Will an MP DIE? The twisted logic not to have by-election for a vacant seat in Parliament is an affront to Democracy; why should an election loser hang around to be called into Parliament?

11/3/2015

AIYAZ Sayed Khaiyum and his electoral designers chose to do away with By-Election in the 2013 Constitution to ensure that Fiji First Party numbers remained the same during the life-term of Parliament. And the Opposition happily taking advantage of the provision, even though it is quite contrary to TRUE democracy. We will not see any BOYCOTT from them on this one.The Constitution says if the seat held by an MP who is a member of a political party becomes vacant, then the Electoral Commission must award that seat to the candidate of the same party who in the most recent general election, is the highest ranked in the party. So, a losing candidate can go away and milk cows for the next three years only to be told that he or she can return to Parliament for a seat has become VACANT. UNBELIEVABLE and UNACCEPTABLE PROVISION! By-elections are usually considered the first meaningful indicator of a change in the political wind after a general election - one can measure popularity or disgust for political parties and their policies. Will a failed candidate for a Government job be extended the same luxury if the person who got the job drops dead at work, home or in hospital?

MOCKERY OF DEMOCRACY: "I am ready to take up my role as an Opposition Member of Parliament', Sodelpa's Mikaele Leawere told Fiji Sun. Who can blame him for coming out of the cold to warm a seat in Parliament. For both the Government and Opposition are happy with the no by-election provision in the Constitution

From Fijileaks Archives:

http://www.fijileaks.com/home/the-vote-loser-aiyaz-khaiyums-dhondt-electoral-system-cheated-opposition-party-candidates-and-is-sending-over-20-ffp-candidates-into-parliament-with-less-then-800-votes

Khaiyum wrested the A-G's position back from Koya

BEGGARS BELIEF: Ms 990 VOTES TELLS FIJIANS:

17 Comments

Mick Beddoes

11/3/2015 05:55:52 pm

Correction
SODELPA is not comfortable or happy about the 2013 Constitution and we are on record many times over saying so. SODELPA will not be happy until the full restoration of Democracy is in place. But this does not mean that we should deny our next member a place in Parliament. Every vacancy should have a bi election and the Editor is right when he says this is designed more to maintain Fiji First seats in the House.

Dekho

11/3/2015 06:07:22 pm

For his intellectual property theft - presenting Marvin Gay's 1977 song and music as his own original composition - Canadian award winning singer Robin Thicke has been ordered to pay $ 9 million in compensation to Marvin Gay's family. For their intellectual property theft - stealing the Fiji First party name - Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum and his cronies have paid nobody anything.
These thugs have got away with day light robbery.

Yep

11/3/2015 06:12:15 pm

You too right Fijileaks. In Hindu we say " Sab Kai maan ke laddo parliament mein bait ke" all having the goodies by warming the parliament seat.

Point Taken

11/3/2015 07:33:31 pm

Well the electrol system is not perfect and we may perhaps ask the Opposition or even the public to make proposals.

The previous system also posed problems and Chaudhary & Qarase both treated it with contempt post election victories respectively.

For now Leawere will do just fine, a better option than 3% PDP Felix Anthony, a regime stooge only to be jolted aback after a mysterious lump on his chin.

Welcome Home

11/3/2015 07:39:23 pm

In 1941 we are informed no less a person than Sir Winston Churchill gifted to the Supreme Court of the United States a rare and priceless copy of Magna Carta which is 800 years old. It belonged to Lincoln Cathedral where it was displayed to remind all and sundry: No person shall be above the Rule of Law (including the King himself). BBC World Service radio.

Semi M Kuboutawa

11/3/2015 07:49:37 pm

Oh no!..( With all due respect to Mr Leawewre) Ratu Jone Kubuabola just missed out by 33 votes...yep...only blooming 30 plus 3 votes. A few other former Cabinet Ministers missed out too.

At least Uncle Mick the CEO of SODELPA should be at least proud he beat a reigning Cabinet Minister at the polls by 35 more brave souls who voted for Uncle Mick.

Question is whether the FFP Government would call a snap mid-term election just at the edge of their honey moon period? The next logical question to ask is if SODELPA/NFP/OFP etc have done enough homework to regain valuable political ground lost due what is now known as a pathetic campaign against the might of the “well-oiled” Bainimarama/Aiyuz Campaign machine?

Has majority of the populace, have woken up as claimed, and really turning away from the charisma and political flare of the retired Rear Admiral Bainimarama towards…..uh… SODELPA/NFP/OFP?

..or would the FFP be given another 4 extra years on a platter …that’ll be 6 years in total, just be enough time to give free parcel roti lunch to the kids now receiving free milk in early primary!!.

All we're trying to say is that; Uncle Mick , Aunty SODELPA and Kaka NFP have a lot of work to do yet if they really believe the FFP Bainimarama kingdom could be unseated in their lifetime!!

Wouldn't it be best to focus more on camping strategies leading up to.uh...say..snap elction?

Chun Mun

12/3/2015 04:10:16 am

Ah Ratu Jone Kubuabola.

The former Governor of Reserve Bank of Fiji under whose "prudential supervision" the taxpayer owned National Bank of Fiji crashed with hundreds of million dollars in bad loans !!

How he even manages to get any votes is a mystery to me.

Rationalist

13/3/2015 10:50:00 pm

Ratu Yavala has the charisma of a used yoga mat, or perhaps even that of a shoe. He has had his five minutes in the sunshine. We need new thinkers.

anish singh link

11/3/2015 08:01:48 pm

so who will be leader in the parliment in 2015

And

11/3/2015 10:55:30 pm

In case anybody didn't know if the thugs who grabbed power through the barrel of the gun and established a dictatorship in Fiji for eight years and enjoyed unfettered power had it their way they would NOT have an election altogether!
Recall how they were getting some of their lackeys and cronies to make statements - especially in the dictator's paper the Fiji Sun - to say there was no need to hold elections?
The constitution and the election set up they eventually put in place - because of external pressure - is the next best thing for them.
Dictator's don't believe in constitutions and elections. They believe ONLY in power.

11/3/2015 11:48:23 pm

What we are witnessing here is a continuation of the " democracy returns to Fiji " farce. It is all a big show . Hence the phony consultations to show the ILO that the " democratic " government in Fiji is now legislating labour laws in a democratic way.

Single Constituency Paliament

12/3/2015 01:48:40 am

Please note Fiji's current electoral system is based on a single constituency parliament unlike the multi constituency system of the past. In the event a seat gets vacant if a by election were to be held then the entire nation will have to vote and not just part of the population or people from a particular locality as politicians no longer represent a particular constituency. Under the current system voters can vote for any candidate from anywhere they want to. So to have the entire country vote for just one vacant seat would be a very expensive affair. It is for this reason the party the party which lost the candidate for one reason or another is given the opportunity to fill that vacancy from its own rank This process is not unusual or not unheard of. In Australia whenever the Senate (upper House) seats become vacant the party that held the seat fills it with a candidate of its own choice rather than holding a state wide election to fill the seat. Note in Australia the senators are elected and not nominated. So holding a by election each time a seat gets vacant under the present system does not appear feasible unless Fijileaks and other commentators who advocate a by election have an alternative solution.

12/3/2015 02:21:17 am

So why was such an un feasible electoral system instituted? Whose interest did it serve?

SODELPA'S INTEREST

12/3/2015 03:27:11 am

SODELPA complained of 2014 Election results were rigged. They failed to boycott the participation in parliament and make a huge cry and dance to UN. At least they would have been noticed and been EFFECTIVE. There is nothing left of them at least in this parliament. What goes around comes around.

They lost the chance to TEST the 2013 Constitution as to if they did so how then would the rest of the opposition seats be filled with a no bi-election as their protest would have been genuine?

Maybe they were losing on the parliamentary salary and now boycotting on issues when they were clear parliament was just an avenue to have a voice BUT not have an EAR to be listened to!!!

Multi Constituency System

13/3/2015 03:25:59 pm

If you want by elections when a seat gets vacant then the only way to do that is to have a multi constituency system in which case only the voters residing in that electorate will vote in the by election and not the entire country. For example the entire country could be divided into 50 constituencies where at present the whole country is one big constituency. But then under this system you can no longer have the proportional system where the number of seats a party gets is determined by the proportion of seats it gets. At the individual constituency level how can allocate that one single seat to the paties in proportion to the votes each party gets - cut up the candidate in portions! Under such a multi constituency system you will have to opt for the first-past-the-post (FPP) system or the preferential voting system like Australia's. Would this system. particularly FFP, be more democratic then? Certainly the FPP will not be in many circumstances. For example if three candidates contest for a seat in one constituency and one candidate gets 40% of the votes, another gets 35% and the third gets 25% then under the FPP system the candidate with only 40% of the votes gets into parliament while 60% of the voters are deprived of representation in parliament. The proportional voting system is designed to avoid such inequities in the voting system. The number of seats a party gets is in proportion to the percentage of votes it gets in the election nationwide. If it wins 60% of the votes then it get 30 seats, with 50% it gets 25 seats, with 40% it gets 20 seats, with 10% it gets 5 seats etc etc.

So take your pick on what system you want or prefer.

Did SODELPA protest to COURT doors on processes to 2013 Election?

12/3/2015 04:19:43 am

AG yet to decide on electionsFebruary 13, 2013 05:27:42 PMA+ A-| ||

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Fiji’s Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is still yet to decide whether he will contest the 2014 elections or not.

Speaking to FijiLive, Sayed-Khaiyum said right now the focus is to ensure that elections are conducted in a free, fair and transparent basis.

“There were many issues in the 2006 elections,” said Sayed-Khaiyum.

“The focus of my work is to ensure that we have proper rules and regulations in respect of having systems and processes, there was fraud in the last elections, there was a lot of subjectivity in the regulations,” he said.

He said as a potential voters, people should be interested in ensuring that the processes are transparent as opposed to who will be contesting elections.

By Mereani Gonedua

Oracle

12/3/2015 04:21:42 am

What Democracy ?.. SODELPA is a weak party if it thinks that boycotts are effective, they are not, neither is the party leadership. FijiFirst will self destruct before SODELPA becomes an effective opposition..and then Uncle Mick Beddoes will try to claim the credit....

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