AG says Solicitor General is independent and it’s not his department while Chaudhry says Supervisor of Elections shouldn’t have been represented by the State Law Office

Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says according to the Fijian Constitution, the Office of the Solicitor General is independent and it is not his department while Fiji Labour Party Leader, Mahendra Chaudhry says the Supervisor of Elections in their case against SODELPA MP, Niko Nawaikula should not have been represented by the State Law Office.

Sayed-Khaiyum says the Government since the last nine years has been saying that the Solicitor General’s Office is independent and the Opposition themselves have been accusing the Solicitor General and his office of not being independent.

The Attorney General adds Nawaikula lawyers, Graham Leung was the Chair of the Electoral Commission in 2006 while Jon Apted is a former Supervisor of Elections.

He says in his humble opinion, it was the responsibility of counsel from both sides to be able to represent and argue the constitutional provisions.

Meanwhile, FLP Leader, Mahendra Chaudhry had earlier said Sayed-Khaiyum's absurd claim that lawyers from both the sides “did not do a good job”, reflects poorly on his own Solicitor General who appeared for the Supervisor of Elections, albeit quite improperly.

The FLP Leader says as holders of an independent constitutional office, the Supervisor of Elections should not have been represented by the State Law Office in the first place.

He says it is only proper that all independent officeholders have legal representation separate from that of the State.

Chaudhry says the Niko Nawaikula case did not evolve around the issue of registering one’s name twice, as alluded to by the Attorney General.

He says it was about him using his common name to register and not the name on his birth certificate.