Labour Party calls for coalition
The National Federation Party, People’s Democratic Party and the proposed HOPE Party and Savenaca Narube’s Unity Fiji have been invited to join the Fiji Labour Party in a coalition to contest neat year’s general elections.
However PDP yesterday cemented allegiance to SODELPA which leaves the NFP, proposed HOPE and Unity Fiji Party to either take up or reject FLP’s call for coalition.
The call for the coalition was made yesterday by FLP stalwart Ganesh Chand at the party’s Delegates Conference held at the National Union of Hotel and Catering Employees Office in Nadi yesterday.
This was also echoed by party leader Mahendra Chaudhry who called for a united approach by political parties.
At the same time, Mr Chaudhry claimed there was no media freedom in Fiji and as a result their voice could not reach the people, but no evidence of this was presented.
“If we can get together as a coalition, there will be a new government,” he told about only 60 people who attended the meeting.
He said the 2014 General Election clearly showed what happened when there was division in the party. Lawyer Aman Ravindra-Singh was general secretary of PDP and along with unionist Daniel Urai, were yesterday welcomed back into FLP after their brief failed stint with PDP which was founded after a falling out within Labour.
Mr Chand said with the present electoral system a party that received less than five percent of votes lost out and their votes went to another person.
“With the division in 2014, the division saw neither FLP nor PDP win a seat because of this,” he said.
“The division saw their annihilation.”