25 Nov 2008

Forum declines comment on Fiji budget as election commitment fades

4:02 pm on 25 November 2008

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat has no comment on the Fiji interim government's new budget, which makes no mention of elections next year.

The Forum has been urging Fiji to hold elections by March amid warnings that Fiji is at risk of having its membership suspended.

At the Forum leaders' summit in Niue in August, the Forum said Fiji had to keep its timetable of having elections as promised following the 2006 military coup.

The leaders also agreed to hold a special meeting in Papua New Guinea before Christmas to consider Fiji's progress.

The Forum secretariat says the special meeting in Port Moresby will still go ahead, but it'll be most likely postponed to January.

The Forum also has regular meetings with Fiji's interim regime on holding elections, with aid donors helping fund preparations.

But now the Forum would not comment on the developments in Fiji, except to say that the leaders' decision made in Niue still stands.