Agenda finalized for President’s Forum

The 18 political parties and the interim government have come to an agreement on the agenda for the proposed President’s Political Dialogue Forum after the second meeting of political parties this afternoon.

The meeting agreed that the agenda for the President’s Forum will be the democratic experience in Fiji and parliamentary reform, electoral reform and general elections and the People’s Charter.

The meeting also agreed that there will be 23 representatives from the registered political parties, including three members from government.

It has also been agreed that 15 NGOs should also be represented in the President’s Political Dialogue Forum process, and the modality of their participation and interaction with the political parties will be decided upon in the next political meeting which has been scheduled for April 3rd.

Each political party is to submit the names of their representatives and the name of three NGOs/civil society organization to the Secretariat by March 20th after which the Secretariat will decide which 15 NGOs are to be included in the President’s Forum.

The meeting also agreed that the President’s Political Dialogue Forum can be convened after all outstanding matters are ironed out and after feedback from the UN and Commonwealth on their preparedness to host the Forum.

Former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase said this shows that despite differences over certain matters the political leaders came to a consensus on the issues.