Indian Newslink 1st February 2017 Digital Edition

10
Fijilink
FEBRUARY 1, 2017
Electoral Commission delay deplorable
Dr Biman Prasad
The National Federation
Party is deeply concerned
that the Constitutional Offices
Commission continues to
delay the appointment of the Electoral
Commission, which is critical for
preparations for a truly credible, free
and fair general elections.
The three-year term of the Electoral
Commission ended on January 9, 2017
and since then, the Supervisor of Elections,
who reports to the Commission
and follows its directions, has been left
unsupervised and is carrying on with
preparatory work for the elections.
We ask, “Who is the Supervisor
reporting to and taking directions
from? Is it the Minister responsible
for Elections who happens to be the
Attorney General as well as the General
Secretary of the Fiji First Party?”
The Constitutional Offices Commission
(COC) is empowered under
Section 13 of the 2013 Constitution to
appoint the Chairperson and Members
of the Electoral Commission. The COC
is chaired by the Prime Minister and
its members are the Attorney General,
the Leader of the Opposition, two
Members appointed by the President on
the advice of the PM and one member
appointed by President on the advice of
the Opposition Leader.
Lopsided Body
The Member nominated by the Leader
of the Opposition, lawyer Richard
Naidu, resigned last year. The current
COC is therefore totally lopsided in
favour of Government. We also note
that the COC Chairperson (the Prime
Minister) has been empowered to make
acting appointments for a period of
three months. He used this to appoint
the Acting Commander of the Army in
August 2015.
Why couldn’t the Prime Minister
extend the term of the Commission
chaired by Chenn Bunn Young for a
three-month term, pending the Commission’s
reappointment or appoint
a Commission for another three-year
term?
Election 2018
It is deeply concerning that the
Elections Office has been running
without the constitutionally-mandated
oversight of the Constitutional Offices
Commission, especially when it is already
preparing for the 2018 elections.
The next scheduled general election
can be constitutionally held as early as
April 2018, three-and-half years into
the term of the current Parliament.
This is 15 months away. We cannot
have the Supervisor of Elections
preparing for election at his discretion
against a backdrop of clear conflict of
interest from his Minister, who is the
General Secretary of the ruling Fiji
First Party.
Furthermore, the Court of Appeal
judgment (Civil Appeal ABU 0069 of
2014) was crystal clear in its declaration
when it said, “The construction
to be placed on sections 76(3) of the
Constitution read with section 8(a)
of the Electoral Decree requires the
Supervisor to comply with all decisions
and directions given to him concerning
the performance of his functions by the
Commission.”
This is a very clear direction from the
Court of Appeal and their declaration,
read with the Constitution, places the
onus on the Prime Minister to ensure
that these legal principles are upheld
expeditiously.
Multinational Group Comments
An Electoral Commission is
needed to ensure the implementation of
Recommendations of the Multinational
Observer Group, which included the
General Election 2014 and the Annual
Report 2014 of the Electoral Commission
itself.
We know that the Reports, after a
delay, were referred to the Parliamentary
Select Committee on Justice, Law
and Human Rights.
The Committee’s Report should
be tabled in the February sitting of
Parliament, in the interest of a truly
credible and genuinely free and fair
election next year.
The full implementation of the
Report is a prerequisite to our electoral
integrity and for totally free and fair
and robust debate among and between
political parties and candidates and,
most importantly, for the media to
amplify, without fear, their voices to the
public.
For the sake of transparency and
accountability of the electoral process,
there should not be any delay in the
appointment of the Electoral Commission.
Otherwise, in our view, it would
constitute systematic election rigging
by ignoring the need for the continuous
existence of an independent institution.
Dr Biman Prasad is Leader of the
National Federation Party and Elected
Member of Parliament. Prior to
his political career, he was Professor
of History at the University of South
Pacific in Suva.
Indian government honours prominent Fijian
Staff Reporter
info@indiannewslink.co.nz
The Indian government has
honoured Vinod Chandra
Patel, Chairman of the
Vinod Patel Group, with the
prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
Award.
A communication from the Indian
Overseas Affairs Ministry, which
organises the biannual event with
the support of the Confederation of
Indian Industry and several other
organisations, said that the Samman
Award was in recognition of Mr Patel’s
Social Service.
He was among 30 others to receive
the high civilian honour at the 14th
Edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
(PBD) held in Bengaluru from January
7 to January 9, 2017 with the Karnataka
government jointly hosting the event.
PBD background
The Indian government instituted
PBD for greater engagement with
people of Indian origin living overseas
and to recognise and reward achievers.
The PBD was held in New Delhi
from January 7 to 9, 2003.
PBD began as an annual event but
was made biennial for the larger Indian
Diaspora in 2015. It commemorates
the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India
from South Africa on January 7, 1915
to lead the Freedom Movement.
India’s President Pranab Kumar
Mukherjee presented the Samman
Awards on January 9, 2017, while
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke
in praise of the Indian Diaspora (Indian
Newslink, January 15, 2017).
JennySALESA
MP forManukau East
Electorate Office
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09 274 9231 or 278 9972
jenny. .salesa@parliament.govt.nz
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YouthLine Building,
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Friday
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Otahuhu Town Hall,
10-12 high street,Otahuhu
Monday morning 9am to 12pm
Authorised by JennySalesa
Parliament Buildings,Wellington
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with some of the recipients of the Pravasi Samman Award 2017 including Vinod Patel, standing second from right
(Picture by Press Information Bureau, Government of India)
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Among the New Zealanders who
have received the Samman Awards
in the past years are former Dunedin
Mayor Sukhi Turner (2004), Justice
Ajit Swaran Singh (2008), former Governor
General Sir Anand Satyanand
(2011), Dt Satendra Singh (2013) and
National List MP Kanwaljit Singh
Bakshi (2015)
About Vinod Patel
The 78-year-old Ba based founder
of Vinod Patel Group, attributed the
honour to the community.
“I have been fortunate to receive
overwhelming support from many
friends, family members and charitable
organisations. These include Red Cross
of Fiji, Shri Sanatan Dharm Pratinidhi
Sabah and other social organisations.
Therefore, I truly feel that the Samman
Award has been bestowed on many
hundreds of people who have supported
me in my social service journey,”
he said.
He also thanked his wife and
children for their support.
Among the several organisations
that he has supported include AD Patel
College, Tagore Memorial School and
Ba Gujarat Education Society.
He established the Shankarbhai
and Shantaben Patel School for boys
and girls in the name of his parents in
Karkhadi, a village near Vadodara in
Gujarat.