Local Elections Motion Rejected in Fiji Parliament

The opposition has turned down the Fiji Government's motion of bringing back the municipal council or local elections. Over a decade ago, the military regime had abolished elected councils and now the FijiFirst government wants to review it citing corruption and mismanagement.

The National Federation Party (NFP) leader Lenora Qereqeretabua criticized the government's plans saying the appointments had been based on nepotism and cronyism. She said there is irrefutable evidence of who are financiers of the ruling party and can link them to certain developments and appointments. Qereqeretabua had moved to uphold the Local Government Act and approve the facilitation of municipal elections by October. The motion was defeated 27 to 21.

The Minister for Local Government, Premila Kumar said Fiji's system of local government needed to undergo critical reform before a return to elections to avoid the corruption and mismanagement. Kumar explained the municipal councils had a history rife with scandals, corruption and squandering ratepayers' money. "By calling for municipal elections, the opposition is actually calling for a return to corruption and inefficient development. We must not and we will not give in to these demands for the sake of political expediency." Kumar reiterated that Fiji needs a system to fit its own development needs. The minister said five special administrators would be appointed to oversee the municipalities and a committee would be set up to review local government laws.

However, Qereqeretabua questioned the 'fast-tracked' review of the Act which was promised in 2017. "Taxation without representation is tyranny, already the special administrators and CEOs of municipal bodies are toothless tigers," Kumar said over US$60 million had been invested in municipal assets and innovative solutions had been found to long-standing problems after elected councils were removed.