12 Jul 2006

Fiji Labour leader ignores calls for management board meeting

10:05 am on 12 July 2006

A report from Fiji says the Labour Party leader, Mahendra Chaudhry, has ignored repeated calls for a management board meeting to discuss the row within the party.

Radio Legend reports that the calls have been made by the five dissident members of the party who challenged his list of senate nominees two weeks ago.

They are cabinet ministers Poseci Bune, and Krishna Datt, MPs Felix Anthony and Agni Deo Singh and former senator Dr Atu Emberson-Bain who want a management board meeting to have open discussions about the issues facing the party.

The report says Mr Chaudhry is concerned that he does not have majority support in the management board where the dissident group comprise five of the nine members.

The report quotes its sources as saying Mr Chaudhry is now talking to members of Labour's national council before calling it to meet to take disciplinary action against the five which could include expulsion from the party.

The national council comprises mostly district representatives who are also members of the National Farmers Union which is Mr Chaudhry's power base.