Fiji Labor Party vows to cooperate with other opposition groups for 'democratic rule'

Source:Xinhua Published: 2012-8-27 14:32:16

The Fiji Labor Party (FLP) has vowed to join hands with other opposition parties and groups in a bid " to push the Pacific island country back to democratic rule," local website Fijilive reported on Monday.

FLP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhry was quoted as saying "the fight for a democratic Fiji can not be fought alone, so for the betterment of this country, we have to work with other political parties to accomplish this dream."

It is the agreement and resolve of the FLP congress that just ended in the western tourist town of Nadi on Saturday, according to Chaudhry.

Meanwhile, the party is also calling for the appointment of a caretaker government in Fiji immediately before the 2014 general elections as party members to the Nadi congress have agreed that a caretaker government must take charge of the process of restoring democratic and constitutional rule in the island nation.

FLP Leader Mahendra Chaudhry says the current constitutional process sanctioned under Decrees 57 and 58 were fundamentally flawed, lacked credibility and integrity and could not be seen as inclusive and participatory.

"The current administration has an interest in it. This fact has also been aired by the Chair of the Constitution Commission Professor Yash Ghai -- that the manner that it is being driven at the moment cannot be seen as being independent."

However, Fiji's Land Force Commander Colonel Mosese Tikoitoga said that the Fiji Labor Party was initially part of the process until Chaudhry pulled out and all his party members also did.

"They were part of the process when we started," Tikoitoga said.

Fiji's current government of Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama took power in the 2006 military coup. There has been arguments from the opposition parties and groups over the military role in the future of the island nation.

Posted in: Asia-Pacific

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