Usamate says former FijiFirst’s decline reflects changing public expectations

Opposition MP Jone Usamate says former FijiFirst party’s decline partly reflected how people’s perceptions and expectations evolved and has stressed that political parties must evolve to remain relevant, as expectations rise with time in office.

He highlighted this while speaking on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan where he says the former FijiFirst Party stood for equality and security.

Usamate says that message resonated with a lot of people who felt safe and secure in that environment but there was a lot of talk about freedom and governance, however, those issues still exist in our society today.

The former FijiFirst Minister says the party’s decline partly reflected how people’s perceptions and expectations evolved.

When asked about the impact of former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and former General Secretary and Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum’s departure on the party, Usamate says Bainimarama had brought in the majority of votes and most of the people who entered parliament with him.

He says some of them got 1,000 votes or less than that and got in on the number of votes that Bainimarama got.

He says Bainimarama’s departure created a vacuum because many Fijians looked up to him for stabilising the country after 2006 and for his development work.

Usamate adds that Sayed-Khaiyum’s decision not to enter parliament, followed by his eventual exit, further challenged the party, but they continued, with a new Leader of the Opposition appointed, and had to keep on battling with the challenges as they arose.