The proposed FijiansFirst Party has submitted its application for registration to the Elections Office – a vehicle for Frank Bainimarama to use his continuing popularity to re-enter the political fray and become a major player again in the lead-up to the coming election.
Bainimarama can’t be parliamentary leader of FijiansFirst – as he was for FijiFirst – nor can he contest the election because of the jail sentence he has already served. He also faces the prospect of leading the new party from behind bars if he is convicted on either of the two extra charges he is now facing of abuse of office and inciting mutiny in the RFMF. But that doesn’t mean he won’t be a potent political force up against his nemesis, Sitiveni Rabuka.
There was no mention of Bainimarama when FijiansFirst filed its application at the Elections Office today ( even joining the “Fijians” with “First” is an echo of the old “FijiFirst). It was submitted by Ravindran Kumaran – a former vice-president of FijiFirst – who was described as a Founding Member of FijiansFirst and its General Secretary and Ketan Lal, the current independent MP, formerly with FijiFirst, who was described as a FijiansFirst Party Member.
But Grubsheet understands that another Founding Member is Frank Bainimarama himself – which elevates FijiansFirst from just another party into arguably the biggest challenge to the Coalition government and especially Sitiveni Rabuka’s People’s Alliance.
As head of FijiFirst, Bainimarama secured more votes than anyone else at the 2022 election, FijiFirst gained more votes than any other party and was only beaten into government by one vote on the floor of the parliament with the combined efforts of the PAP, the NFP and SODELPA.
Given the parlous electoral standing of the Coalition months out from the coming election, the smart money must suddenly be on FijiansFirst to have the best possible chance of beating the Coalition, perhaps in coalition itself with the other remnants of FijiFirst still in the parliament headed by Inia Seruiratu, who have called themselves People First.
FijiansFirst, People First. Separate parties but both arising from the wreckage of FijiFirst, which imploded when Frank Bainimarama and his deputy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, resigned from the parliament after their 2022 defeat. Can the two offshoots govern together in coalition? Whatever the strains between them, they are bound to eventually reach an accommodation if it means knocking off the current government and their members returning to power.
The big question is whether Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is part of the new party. Is Khaiyum another founding member? That has yet to be confirmed. Frank and Aiyaz became the Bib and Bub of Fijian politics over their 16 long years at the top, first in the Bainimarama dictatorship from 2006 to 2014 and then in their two terms democratically elected with the return to parliamentary rule.
Have they got the band back together again? We are about to find out. But while Frank Bainimarama has retained a great deal of public popularity, how much is Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum a plus for the new FijiansFirst?
Grubsheet’s own view is that the Party may be better off without him. But Bai and Kai are the most enduring partnership in Fijian politics. No-one was able to hold a cigarette paper between the two of them during their years in power. And the Coalition has been so dysfunctional and chaotic that much of the electorate may be prepared to forgive FijiFirst for its own excesses and hanker for the return of Bainimarama and Khaiyum, if not in the parliament but as the inspiration for the new political grouping.
Certainly, Fijian politics has suddenly been turned on its head. We now have a genuine contest and the Coalition parties are in much more serious danger of not being able to secure a second term. Which means politics has suddenly got very interesting indeed.
All FijiansFirst needs is a charismatic parliamentary leader with broad appeal, some decent candidates and the backing of significant sections of the business community to mount an effective campaign and it may well be curtains for the Coalition. Because even without opinion polls to tell us the precise state of the parties, we know that many Fijians have simply had a gutful of Rabuka and his rabble.
Judging from the global economic outlook, Fiji is also entering a period of grave potential hardship and uncertainty. So who knows? By the time the election comes around, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum’s certainty about his own brilliance may well be back in vogue, even if his pronouncements on the “facts of the matter” are being made from behind bars.
UPDATE TUESDAY AM:
There are already signs of discomfort, if not panic, in the ranks of People First – the new party of former FijiFirst members of the parliament led by Inia Seruiratu.
Their former leader, Frank Bainimarama, emerging at the head of a competing political group is the worst possible news when they would have expected to be the main anti-Rabuka force as the election approaches.
Ouch.
POSTSCRIPT:
It never ceases to amaze me that from far-off Sydney, I can break stories like Frank Bainimarama’s participation in FijiansFirst or be first with news of the Prime Minister’s appeal against the Tuiqereqere judgment ahead of the mainstream media in Fiji.
There is not a single mention in any media outlet this morning of Bainimarama’s role as a founding member of FijiansFirst. And you call yourselves journalists? This is not “media freedom” but a media either asleep on the job or corrupted by government payments and patronage. Or both.
On CFL-Fiji Village, news of the registration of FijiansFirst is an astonishing 17 stories down from the top of William Parkinson‘s Coalition propaganda outlet as of 0630 this morning (Tuesday)
Amazing what $1.7-million of public money can buy – the amount Parkinson received in “public service broadcasting” payments from Biman Prasad just before he announced a doubling of CFL’s profits.
A change of government can’t come soon enough. Nor can a public inquiry into the media to bring these people to account.
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Yep 17 stories down. Count them yourself.
Tick, tick, tick.
Congratulations on the fijianfirst formulation.
It’s FijianSFirst. I know. Hopelessly confusing.
This FijiansFirst Party will end up helping put Sitiveni Rabuka in power by taking away some former FijiFirst votes away from Fiji Labour Party and then failing to meet the threshold.
There is no way these guys can cross the threshold as the electorate is totally disenchanted by how dismal these guys have been in opposition. So much so that Chaudhry had to play the role of defacto opposition leader from outside parliament… and this has largely seen the FijiFirst voter base shift towards him.
NFP has zero chances of winning. They would get their worst awakening if they are counting on iTaukei votes as the iTaukei have not voted for them in large numbers at all in the last three elections… and have even fewer reasons to vote for them this time around. As for the indofijian vote, NFP does not stand a chance and for good reason too, having totally sold out Indofijian rights and interests.
PAP, Labour, possibly SODELPA and another iTaukei party will be the only ones entering parliament this time around.
Khaiyum has brought about disaster after disaster with his miscalculations and this latest one (starting a new party to try to capture FijiFirst votes) will end up helping Rabuka more than anybody else.
You are forgetting one of the oldest adages in politics – oppositions don’t win elections, governments lose them. Given the appalling record of this government, there is no reason to think that Fiji will be any different.
You refer to the NFP not standing a chance for “having sold out IndoFijian rights and interests”. It is precisely for this reason that Indo-Fijians are looking for an alternative in which to put their trust.
Bainimarama got more votes in 2022 than anyone else when the NFP was able to win a record five seats. If they “don’t stand a chance” next time – your phrase not mine – where will those former NFP supporters go?
I think they are more likely to go to a party that gets the endorsement of Bainimarama than reward Labour for being an effective defacto opposition. Because for all his travails in the courts, Frank is still very popular with Indo-Fijians for granting them equal rights. And anyone who has his blessing will be continuing his non-racial policies and proven record of service delivery.
The gang of 10 former FijiFirst MPs in the parliament who are now People First under Inia Seruiratu won’t have Frank’s imprimatur. And whatever bad blood exists between the two camps needs to be resolved by the time the election comes around to give the anti-Rabuka/Prasad forces maximum grunt.
Incumbency is a powerful aphrodisiac and disunity is death – to coin another truism in politics. If the two teams could work together in government before, they can work together again.
By crediting Mahendra Chaudhry with being an effective opposition leader from outside the parliament -and I have made the same observation myself – in the same breath you are damning Inia Seruiratu, who clearly isn’t foreman material or they would have done a much better job of holding the government to account from within the parliament.
Unfortunately for Inia – nice fellow that he is – he is tarred with the brush of having gone along with having his salary doubled from $100,000 to $200,000 and receiving a house (along with all the other fresh perks) and subsequently appearing to go easy on Rabuka.
He will be carrying that baggage into the election campaign at a time when the country will be on its knees economically because of what is happening in the Middle East and the fat cats of the parliament will be under attack.
Yet whatever happens, any of these people would be far better than the sad sacks who currently occupy the government benches – a collection of mediocrities like Siromi Turaga and people mired in scandal and allegations of criminality such as Manoa Kamikamica, Biman Prasad and Lynda Tabuya.
You are discounting the fact that what matters most in Fijian politics is ethnic voting. Regardless of his dismal performance, Rabuka can still bank on the iTaukei support and at the moment, there is no one else who is a serious contender to him.
FijiansFirst will not make the threshold (they lack a rockstar amongst other reasons), and no amount of endorsement by Bainimarama can change that. They will only end up helping Rabuka by wasting votes…mark my words.
They would do worse at the polls if they put a treacherous and untrustworthy person like Tupou Draunidalo as the leader. She would be an even worse dictator than Bainimarama and Rabuka have been.
I agree that if Tupou Draunidalo is the answer, we are asking the wrong question. I’m hearing that she is part of FijiansFirst but surely not the party leader. Because that would be suicide.
Word is that Inia’s flock used Frank’s name to gather signatures for his party’s registration.
So that’s another stain on him potentially.
Mr Seruiratu does not live in a government quarters. He lives in his own home in Namadi Heights. Please get your facts right.
Fact: He agreed to a new salary package for the Opposition leader that included a doubling of his salary and the provision of a house. If he lives in his own home and hasn’t taken the house, then good for him. But he should have strongly opposed the obscene new salary packages and benefits for the nation’s MPs and he didn’t. So please get your facts right.
Word, GD. Can somebody confirm if the military tie wearing big tummy fella collects housing allowance in lieu of not using a gobment quarter?
Asking for a friend’s cousin’s wife’s sister.
Anyone?
With this Coalition Government impotent in all aspects there is great fear that they may lose the next elections. So the smart money is on Rabuka delaying elections.
With the Constitution Review Committee announced and all of his YES men on the Committee, he may come up with the noble idea that since it will take time to review the Constitution, he will delay elections for another 3 or 4 years.
The President then dissolves Parliament, announces a caretaker government and lo and behold Rabuka can do away with the SODELPAS and NFPS. Besides Rabuka did make a statement that no Government can complete reforms within 4 years. And because of the urgency to amend the Constitution, the main issue is to give more authority, power and relevance to the GCC in the Constitution.
So Rabuka being Rabuka, he has given this Committee a mandate to provide a recommendation to delay the elections for them to complete their God given task (albeit for the chiefs and GCC). But who am I to speculate, this may all be just a ruse!
There is no lawful avenue for Rabuka to delay the elections. And if he does, then he deserves what he did to Timoci Bavadra in May 1987. To be removed at gunpoint.
This time it would be in the interests of upholding democracy by giving the people their say. And the RFMF should have no problem with that. They would be fulfilling their constitutional duty to protect and defend the well-being of the Fijian people.
The BEST news in a long time. Can’t wait for Frank and co to lead the country again. One thing is certain, whether people like it or not, Frank needs an intelligent mind like Aiyaz.
The hatred towards him is more personal and based mostly on his religion. Hate him or love him, he was the best AG and Minister for Economy Fiji has had. A smart, intelligent, articulate, and well spoken man who held things together under the leadership of Frank.
F**k the haters, F**k Rabuka and his cronies. Let them change the Constitution or delay elections or put Frank behind bars. They will not be able to contain the FijiansFirst tsunami that is about to obliterate any competition.
Exciting times ahead.
Let’s see how this government handles the fuel crisis. Will they be able to do so as well as FFP during covid and cyclones and the floods during their term?
There is a great deal of support for Frank Bainimarama at the moment. In fact there has always support and FFP did win the majority of votes and had Sodelpa sided with Frank the rest would have been history. Aseri would have worked well with Frank and Aiyaz.
That Ro Naulu person is a smart man. He is out to become the next PM or President of Fiji. He every now and then throws Rabuka, a commoner , itaukei under the Pajero. These chiefs really know how to use common grassroots for their own benefit. See how they have used Rabuka from 1987 till now. Rabuka had become a sickly guilt ridden old man trying to please his chiefs. He however, will face God himself and then who will have his back?
The reality is, Fijians, and I mean all Fijians, do not want smart and productive people to lead them. They want dumb arses to be in leadership positions. Just look at the mob now. Isn’t that proof enough?
It is most likely because all the people of Fiji are coconuts themselves in addition to being racists and religious bigots. And I mean ALL of them. From the prominent lawyers to the person sweeping the streets.
That is nonsense and you know it. An attempt to paint everyone with the same brush when it is a lot more complex than that. There are good people, smart people, on all sides. It’s just that their voices tend to get drowned out by the mob.
While I applaud the fact that a new party has formed to try and destroy the evil currently infecting Fijians, the issue you’re going to have is that every new party formed means the votes get further split and there is no one party which can take on Rabuka’s harem alone.
To ensure all the factions can topple this government in the next elections, the only way forward would be for a grand coalition to be formed by all the others. This in its own way brings other issues internally for the coaltion; issues we see plaguing the current 3 legged uneven coalition. From infighting, backstabbing, adultery and other corrupt practices, the coalition is in shambles.
Why would this be different for the other parties? They all have ambitious people in their ranks and they all believe their party and their people should either be the PM or hold the most ministries if they get into government. With all due respect to Mahendra Chaudhry who I sincerely believe is the best to lead the nation out of its hellhole, other parties are likely to prevent him from ever being the PM again simply because they can’t work with his straight-forward approach to things and the other being the fact he is not iTaukei.
Let’s not forget that there is a pedophile racist president at the head of Fiji and he is extremely biased. He will use any opportunity to disqualify an incoming government on some technicality and call for fresh elections if his man doesn’t win and the new coalition is busy with infighting. This has happened in the world and can happen in Fiji (from memory, it has happened in the past)
Until there is a single party that can topple Rabuka and his world all by itself, it is very difficult to see how things will change for Fiji.
Just being back Biman Prasad and the fuel crisis will end. Full stop. He is a great statesman. He will even end the war with Iran.
Yeah, sure. Have another chop.
I don’t think ole’ Charlie Charters is impressed with Frank. This is what he has just posted on his FB page, with a screenshot of your latest blog post. I suspect he is referring to you:
CONVICTED CROOK … and shameless kleptomaniacal sociopath causes ball-greasing Sydney pensioner to wet his panties with excitement.
I’m not wetting my panties. Charlie is sh*tting in his. Because unlike him, I’m not facing a criminal trial and the possibility of a stretch in the slammer. And he is.
Charlie learned nothing whilst living in Yorkshire, where they have an old saying , “If in doubt, do nowt” (nothing)
If had stayed away and kept his gob shut he wouldn’t be in the pickle he’s in now.
Silly old geezer.
The next government will be a multiracial/multiethnic one. The majority of iTaukei who are the learned and enlightened are fed up with ethnonationalism. It’s either these ethonationalist go into oblivion or opposition.