Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Fiji Labour Party calls constitutional process flawed

Posted at 07:52 on 12 September, 2012 UTC

Fiji’s Labour Party says the only way the country can return to constitutional rule is to appoint a caretaker prime minister to oversee elections.

In a preliminary submission to the Constitutional Commission, the party describes the process by which a new constitution is being drafted as fundamentally flawed and lacking in credibility and integrity.

Annell Husband has more:

“The body set up to formulate the new document has been conducting public hearings around the country for the past few weeks and is expected to finish that work next month. The new constitution is to be finalised by the end of next year, in time for the promised 2014 elections. The Kenyan academic and head of the Commission, Professor Yash Ghai, has expressed concern about aspects of the constitutional process, including how free people feel to express their views. The Labour Party says the process is being driven by Fiji’s interim government to achieve its own agenda and it is urging Commission members not to let state decrees stop them from doing their job properly.”