PM OFFERS INVITATION TO FLP TO JOIN IN MULTI-PARTY CABINET

(May 19th, 2006 No. 146)

The Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase has said that following his appointment as Prime Minister yesterday, he has proceeded without delay in extending an invitation to the party or parties that have won 10 percent of the seats or more in the House to be represented in a Multi-Party Cabinet.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, he said the Fiji Labour Party with its 31 members, is the only party that qualifies under the threshold requirement of the Constitution to be invited to join in a Multi-Party Cabinet with the SDL.

Mr Qarase said he had sent a letter to the FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry yesterday afternoon inviting the FLP to be represented in the Multi-Party Cabinet.

The Multi-Party Cabinet, he said is to consist of 17 Ministers of which seven will be offered to the FLP and 10 will be drawn from the SDL party.

As it is, 31 members of the FLP comprises 44% of the total membership of the House of Representatives, of 71. Therefore, the FLP has been offered 44% of the 17 positions in a Multi-Party Cabinet.

PM Qarase said he hopes, Mr Chaudhry will respond positively and with speed to the invitation.

“I would like all Ministers, including those from the Fiji Labour Party, to be sworn in by His Excellency the President on Monday 22nd May. Parliament is scheduled to be formally opened on Tuesday, 6th June, 2006,” he said.

The Prime Minister revealed he has offered to the Fiji Labour Party, the portfolios as follows :

- Minister for Agriculture
- Minister for Health
- Minister for Commerce & Industry
- Minister for Labour, Employment Opportunities & Productivity
- Minister for Local Government & Urban Development
- Minister for Energy & Mineral Resources
- Minister for the Environment

Under the 1997 Constitution, it is the Prime Minister who is vested with the authority to determine the overall size of the Multi-Party Cabinet, the title and portfolio responsibilities of each position, and the person to be recommended to the President for appointment to each position.

Mr Qarase said he has invited Mr Chaudhry to send in a list of 12 names in which he will choose for the portfolios allocated for FLP.

The Prime Minister has also revealed that he will be recommending the appointment of the two Independent members to be Ministers in Cabinet, in addition to appointing a few Ministers in Cabinet drawing from the Senate.

”This will include the Attorney General and Minister for Justice. I stress that these appointments from the 2 Independents and from the Senate are additional to the 17 Member Multi-Party Cabinet,” he said.

Mr Qarase said overall the Multi-Party Cabinet will be 17, however added to this will be Ministers of State bring the total number to either 20 or 21 Ministers in Cabinet.

He said with the inclusion of the Fiji Labour Party there will be more representation of the Indian community in Cabinet, because already the SDL together with the 2 Independents mean a Cabinet drawn from the different communities in Fiji.

Mr Qarase said that a clear message from the General Elections, is that the Fijian and Indian communities have given overwhelming support to the two political parties which would best represent and safeguard their interests in Parliament and in Government.

“The Fijians have shown this in the overwhelming support that they have given to the SDL Party and my leadership. The Indian community has done this in the very strong support they have given to the Fiji Labour Party and its leader, Mr Mahendra Chaudhry.

“This Election outcome is consistent with what I’ve always said, that in promoting national reconciliation and unity in Fiji, it is not enough and in fact, it is totally unrealistic to regard society in Fiji as nothing more than a collection of individuals with equal basic rights and freedoms.”

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