NFP, FLP LEADERS MUST GIVE WAY TO NEW FACES FOR PARTIES TO SURVIVE
THE 2018 GENERAL ELECTION OUTCOME SHOWED THE PARTIES NEED URGENT CHANGE TO REMAIN RELEVANT Otherwise they could be heading the same way small parties are going, to the scrapheap and eventually only two major parties will be left standing
The future of two prominent political leaders hangs in the balance as their parties struggle to stay relevant in the current political climate.
Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry and National Federation Party leader Biman Prasad inevitably come under scrutiny after two dismal election performances.
Reality
The 2018 General Election outcome has indicated the writing is on the wall and that eventually two major parties will be left standing, one as Government and the other as Opposition.
FLP and NFP once used to dominate Fijian politics, but are now only a shadow of their former glory.
Both need urgent surgical treatment to bring about needed changes if they are to bounce back and regain their peak form.
The reality for FLP is that it needs a new leader and rebranding to position itself for the 2022 General Election.
2014 election
In the 2014 election, FLP did not win a seat but it polled 11,670 (2.35 per cent of votes cast). In 2018 it scored a miserly 2800 (0.6 per cent).
This is a massive drop and it indicates that FLP is suffering from a serious decline.
If it fails to take note and act accordingly then it is destined for the political scrapheap like the People’s Democratic Party.
PDP, which used to split the workers’ votes with FLP, did not contest the recent election. That should have helped FLP recapture more votes. But it failed big time. It had more time to campaign than in 2014, so there were no excuses.
Challenge
The challenge against the election’s integrity was a smokescreen to mask the real problems facing the FLP.
Instead of trying to find a scapegoat for its loss it should be regrouping to rectify its weaknesses. When it polled less than the new small parties such as Unity Fiji (6896 or 1.5 per cent of total votes cast) and HOPE (2811 or 0.6 per cent) it exposed its real weaknesses.
For the NFP its predicament is no better. Although it gained 6449 more votes in the recent election, it was not enough to translate to something more positive and meaningful.
It is understood there is huge disappointment right across the party with the election result.
This is particularly so for the party hierarchy who were so confident they would increase their seats in Parliament from three to eight or even 10. They knew it was not realistic to win the election with an outright majority, but they were hoping to win enough seats to become the power broker. All they had to do was to win three more seats and there could have been a change of Government. NFP would have gladly joined SODELPA with 21 seats to form a coalition government.
But it fell short.
This was the election that NFP and SODELPA could have won together. This was their best opportunity to unseat the FijiFirst Government. In many democracies, parties choose new leaders when they lose consecutive elections.
SODELPA
SODELPA adopted the idea when it lost the 2014 election. It amended its constitution to make it legal that the party leader automatically loses his or her position after the party loses an election. Ro Teimumu Kepa was the first party leader to relinquish her role after the amended constitution was passed 18 months following SODELPA’s 2014 election loss. Sitiveni Rabuka was elected as her replacement and the change must have done wonders for the party. In 2014, SODELPA polled 139,857 votes (28.18 per cent of total votes cast).
In 2018, it received 181,072 votes (39.85 per cent of total votes cast). It was a big improvement and resulted in the party winning six more seats to take its tally to 21 in Parliament.
It vindicated the reformers who fought a bitter and sensitive battle for sweeping changes in the party constitution to position the party as a serious challenger for the ruling FijiFirst Government in the 2018 General Election.
It initially split the party, but it (party) made an amazing recovery.
Both FLP and NFP could take their cue from SODELPA’s experience.
If they fail to do it then they could be joining the small parties heading to the political scrapheap because they are in danger of becoming irrelevant. The next four years will be a lot tougher for Mr Chaudhry and Mr Prasad because FijiFirst would have learned from its mistakes or weaknesses in the 2018 General Election.
One was it did not do enough to counter the Opposition propaganda, misinformation and lies.
2022 election
That won’t be repeated in the 2022 election. The emphasis on rural and maritime development plus community work by the new Cabinet will address some of the issues that led to FijiFirst losing ground in these areas.
It will not make the work of smaller parties any easier too.
The demise of One Fiji (2014), PDP (2018) and the likely demise of Fiji United Freedom Party (FUFP) is a sign of what’s going to happen in the future with small parties.
They will be forced to join the bigger parties to remain relevant.
Ultimately, for the Opposition they will be forced to come under one banner if they want to have a realistic chance to defeat FijiFirst through a grand coalition. This idea has been touted before. Indications are that it will now become a serious proposition.
But can Mr Chaudhry and Mr Prasad watch their political legacy disappear under a basically twoparty Parliament?