13 Sep 2005

Fiji political party wants amnesty clauses of Reconciliation Bill withdrawn

10:17 am on 13 September 2005

Fiji's National Federation Party wants the government to withdraw the amnesty provisions in its Reconciliation and Unity Bill in return for sharing preferences in the 2006 general election.

The NFP's president, Raman Pratap Singh, has told Radio Legend that party executives will discuss this with the prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, when the two sides meet to talk about preference sharing and other election issues.

Mr Singh says the NFP will continue to oppose the Reconciliation and Unity Bill in its current form.

He says it would be easier to talk to the SDL if the amnesty clause is modified or deleted.

In the 2001 general election, the NFP gave its preference votes to the SDL.

Under Fiji's preferential voting system, if a party does not win 50 per cent of the votes in any constituency in the ballot, it depends on the preference votes of other parties to secure a win.