21 Feb 2007

Fiji Labour Party member says no rush to return to civilian rule

8:14 pm on 21 February 2007

A senior Fiji Labour Party member, Lavenia Padarath, says there is no need to rush into a general election to restore civilian rule.

Lavenia Padarath made the comment in response to a recommendation from the Forum Eminent Persons Group that Fiji should hold general elections within 24 months while the interim administration has laid down a timeline of 2010 for the poll.

Mrs Padarath has told Radio Legend that a lot of work needs to be done in terms of the census, the drawing up of new electoral boundaries, the registration of voters and the reform of the electoral system before elections can be held.

Meanwhile, a former security advisor to the Labour Party, Posiano Nauku, says Australia and New Zealand should stop using democracy as their weapon to attack Fiji.

Mr Nauku has told the Fiji Sun that Helen Clark and John Howard are nothing but hypocrites and the best thing for them is to leave Fiji alone to solve its problems.

He says the interim government led by Commodore Bainimarama should be allowed to complete its clean-up campaign because it will benefit current and future generations.

But the National Federation Party has called on the interim administration to speed up the election process, repeal the State of Emergency Decree and withdraw armed soldiers from the streets.