The political landscape in Fiji is facing a perfect storm, with the governing coalition and the opposition party plagued by internal divisions.
This has been highlighted by the academic director of parliamentary law at the University of Tasmania, Richard Herr.
Herr said that the internal strife within the government, marked by policy disputes and personality clashes, combined with an opposition in meltdown due to its own power struggle, is creating a highly unpredictable political landscape.
He said that the opposition’s role is to keep the government accountable, but this is currently not happening due to their own internal power struggle.
“You would expect the opposition to take advantage of a government that’s struggling for coherence, to shine a light on what’s going on, provide transparency, and so forth, but at the moment, the opposition is so divided that it isn’t even clear what their standing will be in parliament.”
Herr said there are too many uncertainties, including whether the coalition government will stay intact or if new alliances will form within the parliament.
Meanwhile, the 17 FijiFirst members of Parliament have received a letter from the Speaker of Parliament advising that after carefully considering independent legal advice, the Speaker has rejected the FijiFirst Notification of Vacation of Seats he received on 30th May 2024.
This means that the full 26 Opposition Members of Parliament remain and will continue to perform their Parliamentary roles.
