Leader of Fiji's People's Alliance Party, Sitiveni Rabuka. Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
As Fijians await the announcement of the 2022 General Elections, provisional candidates under the People's Alliance Party are being questioned by Fiji's anti-corruption agency.
Party leader Sitiveni Rabuka was recently contacted by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC), and this afternoon he paid a visit to the Commission, where they informed him of the latest developments.
The Commission has itself refused to make any comments at this time regarding which provisions of the law these investigations are taking place under, and neither was the party leader informed.
"The candidates questioned would have been told about the nature of these complaints and against which provisions. But, unfortunately, I wasn't informed on the nature of the investigation but only that they spoke to two provisional candidates, and a few more are yet to be questioned."
Speaking to RNZ Pacific this afternoon, Rabuka said he understands that this new development by the FICAC is based on concerns raised by other political parties.
"The complaint was made by the General Secretary of the FijiFirst Party and our Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. I think it is a very sad indication of the state of affairs in Fiji, where the political opposition parties are hamstrung by the high handedness of the current government."
The leader claimed these actions by the ruling party are intended to discourage open campaigning as any democratic society enjoying its freedom of speech.
Complaints filed
Mohammed Saneem Photo: RNZ Pacific/Koroi Hawkins
The People's Alliance Party has also submitted complaints about the Electoral Act's alleged breach against the FijiFirst Party and is still awaiting a response.
"Our complaints and theirs were made about the same time, but the FijiFirst Party's complaints went further to FICAC and ours have not been referred to FICAC. So, I do not know their response, but the Supervisor of Elections has said there are no grounds for our complaints."
Rabuka added that the People's Alliance Party has yet to receive any formal response from the Supervisor of Elections.
However, FBC News reported that Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem was going through the two-page complaints.
Saneem said, "In the case of the current complaint that we have, we have to determine who the complaint is against. We do not believe that the statements made in the media by PA are based on the proper understanding of the law. At this point, we haven't yet determined who is to respond to the complaint primarily because the complaint itself is confused with who the alleged individuals are and the office they hold."
Electoral Act Amendment
Rabuka also voiced his disappointment with the amendments to the Fijian Electoral Act, stating it was a ploy by the FijiFirst Party to tighten the ropes on its power.
Fiji First leader Frank Bainimarama is vying for a second term as an elected leader. The number 688 is his number of the ballot paper, on which names and party logos aren't shown. Photo: RNZ / Koroi Hawkins
"It is really just to tie down the hands and feet of the opposition parties. It does not facilitate the smooth running of an election and campaigns but only hampers the progress of other political parties," said Rabuka
Last month, the Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, who is also the Elections Minister and the General Secretary of the ruling FijiFirst party, introduced a controversial bill to amend legislation to increase the powers of the nation's elections chief.
The proposed changes to the Electoral Act 2022 are "necessary to avoid any potential procedural conflicts under the Act" and to "empower the supervisor of elections to obtain relevant information and documentation," Sayed-Khaiyum said while introducing the bill to parliament.
The passed amendment will now allow the SOE to direct a person, in writing, to furnish any relevant information or document.