Lands Minister, Filimoni Vosarogo has asked where was Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum's legal expertise when he disqualified himself from Parliament after Sayed-Khaiyum said in a facebook post that Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka unfortunately has been subjected to receiving completely wrong legal, economic and socio-political advice.
Vosarogo says Sayed-Khaiyum has been quick to criticise the Prime Minister over constitutional interpretation, but appears to have forgotten how his own misunderstanding of the Constitution cost him his parliamentary seat in 2023.
He says in January 2023, Sayed-Khaiyum accepted an appointment to the Constitutional Offices Commission (COC), overlooking section 63(1)(b) of the very Constitution he had spent more than a decade defending.
Vosarogo says the result was that result Sayed-Khaiyum disqualified himself from Parliament, abandoning thousands of voters who voted for his former party.
He adds that former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama then announced that Sayed-Khaiyum would manage FijiFirst from outside Parliament, presenting it as some kind of strategy, insulting the intelligence of both their voters and the Fijian people, however, the former AG once again overlooked a crucial legal provision, as section 14 of the Political Parties Act prohibited public officers from holding political party office.
Vosarogo says it was an extraordinary episode for someone who had served as Attorney General for more than a decade.
The Lands Minister says Sayed-Khaiyum is now criticising the Prime Minister over remarks made in iTaukei during consultations on the Constitution Amendment Bill.
He says the Prime Minister's core message was that the Government would not interfere with the electoral process, with much of this context missing from subsequent media reports.
Vosarogo says perhaps before lecturing the Prime Minister on constitutional interpretation, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum should reflect on how he managed to lose his own parliamentary seat under the Constitution he spent years defending.
Sayed-Khaiyum said on his facebook post that the Prime Minister, as reported in the Fiji Sun, rather emphatically stated that the "timing of the election will be determined by the Fijian Elections Office; it does not depend on us, the Government."
Sayed Khaiyum said the Prime Minister is completely wrong.
Section 59(1) of the Constitution states that the Writ of Elections of Members of Parliament shall be issued by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister
The former Attorney General says this provision is very simple and clear as daylight, and it is the Prime Minister representing Government that determines the timing of the writ.
He asks why do these blunders and slapdash approach to critical national matters continue, and he also takes a swipe at the media for not questioning or cross referencing to the very easy to read provisions of the Constitution and directly calling out these blunders out for what it is.
fijivillage News has continued to report that the general elections date is determined by the Prime Minister as he advises the President on when to issue the Writ of Elections.
The last date for the writ to be issued is December 24th this year and the last date for general elections to be held is February 6th 2027.
