Saneem demonstrates independence of the Office of Registrar of Political Parties

Mohammed Saneem has admirably shown the independence and integrity of the office of the Registrar of Political Parties of which he holds in dealing with the internal row in SODELPA. He has demonstrated that he is primarily the custodian of political party documents and ensures that parties follow their constitutions and the Act.

He has not interfered in the running of the parties and he has not been influenced by either side.

He has strictly followed the law.

Mr Saneem was obligated to act by law when he wrote to the party giving it until tomorrow to fill the casual positions that were left vacant after the landmark Civil High Court ruling by Justice Vishwa Datt Sharma.

Justice Sharma ruled that the party’s annual general meeting at Yaroi Village, Savusavu in June last year was null and void. Therefore the election of Ro Filipe Tuisawau as president, Adi Litia Qionibaravi as vice president and Usaia Waqatairewa as general secretary and others was invalid.

After the judgment the trio carried on as normal. That was when Mr Saneem had to act. He removed the trio but reinstated Adi Litia in her previous position as general secretary to help facilitate the filling of those casual vacancies and prepare the annual general meeting where substantive appointments will be made.

Now the trio have remained resolute that they will appeal the judgment despite a directive from caretaker party leader Sitiveni Rabuka.

That plunged into oblivion with Mr Rabuka’s peace efforts to reconcile the trio’s group and the disgruntled members who took them to court over governance issues.

Mr Saneem gave the party the enabling environment to do the right thing. Instead, the two factions, driven by some egotistical individuals, decided to contest the power vacuum. As a result two Management Board meetings were held on Saturday instead of one. Yesterday, Mr Saneem received the submission from Emele Duituturaga, who is now recognised by him as the general secretary of the party. Mr Saneem declared that their Vijay Singh led Holiday Inn group was legitimate.

This gives this group the rights to represent the party, get the office keys and take control of the party’s administration.

It is understood that the other group, which has until tomorrow to lodge its submission, had struggled to get the required quorum. If it got it anyway, There was no acting president to preside over that meeting . He was sitting at the other meeting.

Mr Saneem has done his part. The onus is on SODELPA or any other party for that matter to do their part. That means they must comply with good governance principles of accountability and transparency. If they do they will avoid the problems that now plague SODELPA.

They cannot turn around and blame Mr Saneem as some of them have done in the past. They need to do the right thing and follow the requirements of their constitutions.