Non-iTaukei show unprecedented interest in vacant SODELPA position
SODELPA’s search for a new general secretary has attracted an unprecedented interest from non-iTaukei.
This is unheard of in the history of political parties with a predominantly iTaukei membership. It shows a definite shift in the dynamics of the national political landscape.
Indo-Fijians dominate the more than 70 applicants so far for the position left vacant when Emele Duituturaga resigned recently for personal reasons.
The trend is likely to be on the agenda when the party’s governing body, the Management Board, meets next month. Two factors can be attributed to the significant change in the shift.
One is the departure of former Opposition leader and SODELPA leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, to form his proposed new political party. Second is the close working relationship between Mr Rabuka and National Federation Party leader Biman Prasad.
Many people, particularly noniTaukei still do not trust Mr Rabuka for his lead role in the 1987 military coups and the subsequent atrocities perpetrated against IndoFijians.
This after his several apologies to those who had wronged and to the country for the catastrophic economic crisis the coups caused. There is a strong belief that Parliament needs a strong Opposition. It will lift the standard of intellectual discussion on many national issues.
At the moment the Opposition’s poor and weak contribution has been exacerbated by a deeply divided SODELPA, the major partner. Despite Mr Rabuka’s exit SODELPA continues to have that critical mass that retains its potential as a possible alternative government. The applicants were uncomfortable with Mr Rabuka at the helm of SODELPA even though the party had been advocating multiracialism.
Entry of Ratu Epenisa
The entry of Bau chief and heir to the Vunivalu title (paramount chief of Kubuna Confederacy), Ratu Epenisa Cakobau, has been a breath of fresh air.
Many non-iTaukei who once distanced themselves from the party because of its perceived racist policies are beginning to change their attitude because of the shift from conservative right-wing ideologies to the moderate policies at the centre. Ratu Epenisa has spearheaded the change in the political narrative, moving away from the adversarial or confrontational stand to a more conciliatory and bipartisan approach.
He believes that this style will ensure that more things will get done and that the opposite style is unproductive.
Rabuka-NFP affair
Many have not forgotten the outcome of the 1999 General Election when Mr Rabuka went into coalition with Jai Ram Reddy’s NFP. A majority of Indo-Fijian supporters of the NFP voted with their feet. It was a rejection of Mr Rabuka, then Prime Minister, and showed that the wounds from 1987 had not healed. Both Mr Rabuka’s SVT (Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei) and Mr Reddy’s NFP were decimated in the polls. SVT lost 23 of the 31 seats in Parliament it previously held.
The NFP lost all its 20 seats. It has never fully recovered from humiliation.
The feeling of resentment is still present although it is often said that time is a great healer. The hurt has not completely healed, and we are seeing the shift to SODELPA after Mr Rabuka left.
Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry was the main beneficiary of the political fallout in 1999. He secured a record 37 seats, 30 more from the previous parliamentary term to score a historic victory and become the country’s first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister. Many of SVT’s and NFP’s disgruntled fans gravitated towards Labour.
The response that SODELPA is receiving now from non-iTaukei indicates a similar trend. But how big the shift is will become evident when the Fiji Sun-Western Force Research monthly public opinion poll results come out.