Fiji Labour Party Leader, Mahendra Chaudhry has questioned why FICAC Commissioner, Rashmi Aslam has not been removed from office as Chaudhry claims that there is evidence of Aslam’s alleged bias in handling a complaint lodged by FLP against the former Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem in December 2021.
Chaudhry says he sees that the Fijian Elections Office has now written to President Ratu Viliame Katonivere that it has no confidence in Rashmi Aslam as head of FICAC.
This is based on FEO’s claim that Aslam has failed to declare an alleged conflict of interest he may have with Saneem.
Chaudhry claims Aslam’s alleged bias towards Saneem became very obvious when he ruled in January 2022 that the complaint lodged against the SOE by two political parties, FLP and Unity Fiji, “were baseless and without any merit”.
He says yet, 13 months later, on 2nd February 2023, the FEO itself lodges a complaint to FICAC on the same issue asking that Saneem be investigated for allegedly making cash payments to the former chairman of the Electoral Commission on fraudulent claims for sitting allowances at $500 a day on occasions when the commission was not sitting.
Chaudhry says FEO now says that not only the former chairman allegedly benefitted from such fraudulent payments, but all the members of the commission allegedly received payments even for attending social functions.
He says they should all be investigated.
Following the FEO statement, Labour is calling for an investigation into Aslam himself. FICAC has not made any response after the FEO’s statement on alleged bias by Aslam. We are awaiting FICAC’s response.
