‘Nobody has done anything’
UNITY Fiji party leader Savenaca Narube says the party plans to challenge the 2013 Constitution in a court of law because it does not re ect the will of the people and neither has it been passed by Parliament.
Mr Narube said the party has been talking about the issue and other parties, including the Coalition Government parties, have talked about it in the past.
“But nobody has done anything,” he said.
“Over 12 months down the road for this Coalition Government, there is nothing. Nothing at all.
“It’s worth the value of the cost of doing it, so that’s the reason why we’re taking this road.”
The Unity Fiji party leader said the document limited the progress that needs to be implemented in Fiji.
“We in Unity Fiji emphasised during the 2022 campaign that we would try and change this constitution, so that is why we are following this option and challenging the Constitution in a court of law.
“The people did not participate in developing the Constitution and it has not been passed in the Parliament of Fiji.
“The people did not take part and the people did not approve of this Constitution, and we also believe that this present Constitution limits the progress we want to implement in Fiji, but the fundamental issue is the people.
“Let me just stress that this is for the people, nothing political about it.”
Mr Narube said that given that the party does not have the nancial advantage to fund court action, he expressed hope the people would believe in the initiative and support it by donating towards it.
“How did the other parties get rich?
“The FijiFirst party and The People’s Alliance party, how did they get rich? They got rich by donations. People believed in them.
“So we’re hoping that people will believe in this initiative and support it through resourcing, including the nancial part.”
Mr Narube stressed that the Unity Fiji was challenging the fundamental issues of the Constitution and not challenging the interpretation of certain provisions.
“One of the fundamental issues is our democracy. We believe that the current electoral system needs to be reviewed.
“What FF had put into the Constitution needs to be reviewed and we cannot do that without amending the Constitution.
“So, yes, to me it’s the fundamental position that the country needs for progress to unity, freedom and all those values we are ghting for.”
Mr Narube said that to help move their challenge forward in a court of law, they would seek legal help from lawyers such as Jon Apted, Richard Naidu and Chen Bunn Young.
“We will go and have a chat with them.
“We have yet to consult them and hope that they believe in the cause we are taking and provide their technical services, hopefully pro bono.
“We will have to get into the details of the legal technical advice that we need, the legal process later, and whom we should involve in this court challenge.”