It does not matter if other parties do not want to join us – Chaudhry

Fiji Labour Party Leader Mahendra Chaudhry says if other parties do not want to join them, it does not matter and they will proceed with their own agenda and hopefully will be successful in unseating the FijiFirst Government in the next elections while National Federation Party Leader, Professor Biman Prasad says their objective is to unseat FijiFirst and there is no doubt the NFP will pass the threshold to get seats in parliament.

Prasad has stated today that they will work with major opposition parties to form the next government and adds opposition parties have to work smart to win the next election and they do not need to form one party to win the election.

Fiji Labour Party, Freedom Alliance and Unity Fiji have formed a united front for the 2022 general elections by signing a Memorandum of Understanding to work together.

However the NFP Leader also states that it is small parties who could upset the opposition’s plans because if a small party does not get 5% of the vote, its votes may not matter when the seat numbers are decided.

Prasad says if the 12,500 votes of Unity Fiji, HOPE and Fiji Labour Party had gone to NFP or SODELPA in the 2018 elections, Fiji would have had a SODELPA-NFP Government.

When asked on NFP’s stand, Chaudhry says they will go ahead with their own initiative.

The Labour Leader says the opposition failed to unseat the FijiFirst Government in the 2014 and 2018 elections and the 2022 elections will be a much different ball game.

Prasad says ideally they want to be the biggest party in parliament but they also acknowledge there are other opposition parties who are likely to win seats.

The NFP Leader says they need to work smartly. He says if parties do not make the threshold to get seats in parliament, then that can have an overall impact as to what the final tally will be.