Acting Prime Minister, Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says they are committed to prevent Fiji from slipping back into the darkness of division that defined our past.
Sayed-Khaiyum says that requires constant vigilance to keep the forces of communalism and violators of independent institution at bay.
He made these remarks while virtually participating in the first Summit for Democracy hosted by US President, Joe Biden, and was joined by other Chiefs of State, Heads of Government, international and civil society organization leaders.
Sayed-Khaiyum says 51 years ago Fiji began its journey as an independent country as a democracy but it was not a true democracy.
Sayed-Khaiyum adds unfortunately we had been bequeathed a colonial social system built on dividing people on the basis of religion, ethnicity and even region.
The Acting PM further says these divisions which were reinforced by the political leaders became part and parcel of Fiji’s electoral and political system.
Sayed-Khaiyum adds for decades this elite favoring system coupled with enforced ethnic division undermined Fiji’s supposedly independent institutions and stunted our ability to realize true democracy.
He also says rather than erect glass ceilings, a genuine democracy must empower marginalized groups like women to take part.
Sayed-Khaiyum adds it took us four decades, but Fijians have chosen the path of a true and inclusive democracy.
He says the 2013 Fijian Constitution removed the electoral requirement to vote along ethnic lines and undid a backwards system of disproportional representation.
Sayed-Khaiyum also says it created one common and equal Fijian citizenship and gave everyone the same vote of the same value.
He adds we have seen that Fiji’s new and genuine democracy is best equipped to take on our biggest challenges like for example climate change.
Sayed-Khaiyum says we have seen how democracy can be unwieldy, as we all know it can be.
He says but we have also seen how it can be a powerful means to translate people’s priorities into policies and create a solid foundation for national unity.
