One of the three commissioners who helped frame Fiji's 1997 Constitution says the ruling SDL party and the Labour Party must go back to the people if they cannot agree on the multi-party cabinet case.
Tomasi Vakatora's comments come after the Supreme Court today delivered its ruling on the issue, but made no definitive judgement on Labour's claim to 17 seats in a 36-member cabinet.
Instead, the court said neither the Labour Party's claim nor the Prime Minister's offer of 14 seats is correct.
The court has urged both parties to negotiate a way of forming a multi-party cabinet to comply with the constitution.
Mr Vakatora says both parties need to start thinking in the interests of their constituents...
"Now that the court has ruled, they should go back and implement that ruling in a negotiation process. If they do not agree within a reasonable time, instead of holding"
the country at ransom, they should go to the people in either calling a general election or a referendum with the issue of whether or not a multi-party cabinet is workable.
Tomasi Vakatora
