Democracy allows people to express themselves at the ballot box during a General Election

The People’s Alliance candidate, Filimoni Vosarogo, has told voters not to waste their votes on small political parties. This is because they will struggle to achieve the five per cent threshold on votes to win a seat in Parliament.

He is, of course, using this line to try to swing their votes to his party in its bid to secure an outright majority to topple the FijiFirst Government.

Mathematically, he is right going by the results of previous elections. But what if the supporters of those minority parties do not subscribe to the policies of The PA and other major parties? What is the alternative for them?

The smaller parties were formed to accommodate them and offer them a choice. This is what our democracy is all about – choice. While the ultimate objective is to elect a government by the people, for the people, democracy allows for the minority to have a choice too. So, Mr Vosarogo’s assertion that this election is not for smaller parties is flawed in the true sense of a democratic election.

As long as people can form a political party that is compliant with the requirements stipulated by the Political Parties Act, they can use it as a forum to express their beliefs and ideologies. They may not win a seat right away but over time, who knows what can happen? At the same time, new small parties may not be able to sustain themselves and die a natural death like the People’s Democratic Party of Lynda Tabuya and Mr Vosarogo’s One Fiji party. It’s part of our political evolution since 2014, under the 2013 Constitution.

We Unite Fiji, New Generation Party and All People’s Party are making their debut in this election. They are unlikely to win a seat. If they do, it will be a big surprise. They, no doubt, know they have a big mountain to climb but they are happy they are participating in a political process that provides them the opportunity to express themselves. They are in this election because they are serious about what they believe in.

That is the essence of this exercise. It’s a holistic application of the democratic ideal. This is going to be a closely fought election because of the existence of small parties, which will split the votes and make it difficult for the big parties to win an outright majority.

That is why The PA, and the National Federation Party (NFP) will form a coalition after the election in a bid to displace the FijiFirst Government. They know, individually, they cannot win the election. But first, they must win seats. There is no guarantee they will win enough seats to form the Government.

SODELPA appears to have regained lost ground and FijiFirst remains the party to beat.

The Fiji Labour Party prospects are uncertain. It has made a late rally to make its mark as a serious contender, but whether it’s enough to win a seat remains to be seen.

Unity Fiji could be the dark horse in this race and spring a surprise. But for the major parties, they need to respect the small parties. The small parties’ votes will not go to waste but represent a minority group with its own dreams.

NEMANI DELAIBATIKI

Feedback: nemani.delaibatiki@fijisun.com.fj