Unity Fiji

A DEMOCRATIC DISASTER IN THE MAKING”
Statement by Savenaca Narube, leader of Unity Fiji

“The country is headed for a serious democratic disaster simply because the Government of the day was sleeping on the job for over three years,” says Savenaca Narube leader of Unity Fiji and former Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji.

“The Electoral Commission has announced that a national referendum on the amendments to the 2013 Constitution will be held on 9th December 2026.”

“What the Electoral Commission deliberately withheld from the public is the date of the general elections.”

“The Fiji Elections Office (FEO) will conduct the referendum. The processes of the referendum are exactly the same as a general election. The postal ballot and pre-polling will have to be conducted. Eligible participants will have to be registered. The time given is less than two months. This is a huge undertaking.”

“Furthermore, the FEO has to do it all over again for the general elections by the first week of February 2027.”

“The issues in the referendum are complex. The amendments to the 2013 Constitution are many. How will the people be asked to vote in the referendum on multiple issues? The questions must be framed carefully. This is the first of its kind in Fiji. The time allocated should be at least 6 months. The people are already confused. Many may simply not vote in both the referendum and the elections.”

“The likelihood of a democratic disaster is extremely high. We may end up with a failed referendum that does not reflect the will of the people, and a general election which may not be adequately prepared.”

“The price is too high just to satisfy a desperate Government that has been sleeping on the job since it got elected nearly four years ago and desperate to stay in power.”

“The people must show their disagreement with a government that is willing to sacrifice democracy and rule of law for its own survival. Enough is enough!”

COUP LEADERS WILL ALWAYS PROTECT THEMSELVES FIRST”
Statement by Savenaca Narube, leader of Unity Fiji

“When will Fiji learn,” asks Savenaca Narube, the leader of Unity Fiji.

Narube was reacting not only to the Prime Minister Rabuka’s retention of the immunity clause in the 2013 Constitution but also his push to extend its coverage.
“I consider the PM’s actions as an insult to the emotional plea of the people including the views of the Commander of the Fiji Military Force to remove the immunity to discourage future coups,” adds the leader of Unity Fiji.

“But the people should not be surprised by what Rabuka has done because, as a coup leader, he will always put his safety first above the interest of the nation. He has consistently demonstrated this in past actions.”

“What amazes me most, is why people continue to support coup leaders when they have seriously hurt us and our children. Rabuka and Bainimarama have led Fiji for nearly half of the 56 years of our independence. What have they showed for these years? Tragically, nothing but hurt, misery and depression.”

“The people should know that Rabuka and Bainimarama will always take care of themselves first.”

“I thought that this was a golden chance for Rabuka to put the country first and show us he strength and courage by throwing away the immunity and facing whatever he has to face liker a man.”

“But not a chance! He did the very opposite. Rather than face the music, he ran away and hid himself deeper in the constitutional immunity.”
“That is the kind of person some people continue to support. The only consolation is that the number of people that support Rabuka and Bainimarama is quickly evaporating.”

“Bainimarama turned this important national development into a comedy when he claimed that his coup in 2026 was different than Rabuka’s in 1987. What a laugh! A coup is a coup. They both were treasonous and hurt us deeply. Bainimarama is the cause of many of the troubles that we face today. Contrary to what some people still believe, he cannot provide the national security that Fiji needs. Yet, some politicians who personally gained from his coup still believe that he would. But the people are smarter than them.”

“My earnest plea to the people is to learn now from our past choices. Let us abandon coup leaders. They have nothing to offer you and your family. They are the causes of many of our miseries, and they have no credibility to find sustainable solutions.”
“Rabuka and Bainimarama do not inspire our youths. They are the wrong role models.”

“For our youth’s sake, we must vote in a new leader that is not protected by immunity, one that has a clear vision where Fiji should be, and the credibility to find real solutions to the deep economic and social difficulties that we face.”
“I believe that Unity Fiji offers the country and our young people these desired leadership qualities.”

“WHO IS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE STOLEN DRUGS?”

Statement by Savenaca Narube leader of Unity Fiji

“While Fiji is reeling from the stolen drugs in police custody, the most serious issue is that no one has the courage to say that he was accountable to the people for preventing this mammoth operation,” says Savenaca Narube leader of Unity Fiji.

“The big drug heist has shocked the country to the core. But it was coming. This was not the first time that drugs kept as evidence had been stolen,” adds Narube.

“There must now be no doubt in anyone’s minds that corruption is rife in the agencies that are supposed to protect us. It begs the question--Who can we trust? The answer is obvious—We cannot tryst anyone in this government. Tragically, this is the lowest place that the country has stooped to since independence over fifty years ago.”

“Let me add, that the recent statements by the Chief Justice and the Police Commissioner have not helped at all. The Chief Justice’s pathetic defence that these cases happened in other countries reflect the poor judgment of this Government.”

“To make matters worse, no one—not the police, the judicial or the Government has the honesty and courage to say that they were accountable for what happened.

“Only when we concede that we have failed in our duty can we have hope that we can rise from the ashes.”

“Like many people, I am personally gutted to see how low Fiji has declined to. This Government and the Fiji First government have done nothing to fight corruption.

“Unity Fiji has declared war on corruption. We owe this to our young people. We want to leave them a cleaner government, a cleaner police department, and a better and safer country to bring up their children in.”

“IT LOOKS MORE LIKE A POWER GRAB”

Statement by Savenaca Narube leader of Unity Fiji

“The defence of the delay in her government’s promise to amend the 2013 Constitution by the Hon Minister for Fisheries and Forests has exposed serious flaws in the leadership of this country,” says Savenaca Narube, the leader of Unity Fiji.

Narube adds, “The Minister has revealed that the underlying reason why the Government plans to hold on to power beyond the constitutional period is to amend the 2013 Constitution.”

The leader of Unity Fiji pointed out the following:

The Hon Minister confirmed that her Government could have amended the 2013 Constitution in the first, second and third year. Why did they choose the fourth year? This implies that her Government deliberately delayed the amendments for a reason.

The people needed to know what this reason was.
It then begged the question: What was her Government doing in the first three years? The amendment to the 2013 Constitution was a clear priority of the people. But the Government decided to wait. This implied that the priorities of the people was not a concern of the Government.

The people’s priority was clearly the rising cost of living. In its term, the Government had done nothing to cushion the impact of the cost of living on people’s lives.

Instead, this Government decided to pay themselves huge rises in pay and allowances within the first six months. This implied that the Government was there only to look after themselves, not the people.

I was all for the amendments of the 2013 Constitution. Unity Fiji was the only party that wanted to take the 2013 Constitution to Court which was thwarted by the rulings of the Supreme Court last year. But the Minister had missed my two main concerns. The first was that amending the 2013 Constitution must carry the full will of the people. We must do this right this time. The Constitutional Review Commission had done its work. The Government must now take the amendments to the people at the grassroot level and in their own language.

My second concern was that the Government was threatening to defer the general elections in order to amend the 2013 Constitution. This would be illegal and would have been avoided if the Government had amended the Constitution within the first three years. What other big tasks was the Government doing? I could not see any except to travel more abroad.

Lastly, making these constitutional amendments just before the elections will affect our ability to deliver a free and fair election. Fiji does not have the resources and technical capacity to do both at the same time. The Government knows that. The Minister knows that. But it appeared that their ultimate aim is to use these amendments to stay in power. It looks more like a power grab.

The only common-sense solution was to leave the amendments of the 2013 Constitution to after the general elections. In this way, we achieve both—properly run a free and fair elections and do the best we can in amending the Constitution that will unite this country.

Narube ends, “In conclusion, this tactic is clearly political. The Government knows that they cannot win the next elections. They have decided to sacrifice the law and illegally delay the elections for their own selfish reasons. Tragically, this tactic is not new to Fiji. The people must rally and tell the Government in no uncertain terms that they cannot do this again.

TAKE THE CONSTITUTION AMENDMENTS TO THE GRASSROOTS

Statement by Savenaca Narube leader of Unity Fiji on the amendment of the 2013 Constitution

“We must do it right this time,” says Savenaca Narube, the leader of Unity Fiji.
Mr Narube was referring to the amendments to the 2013 Constitution which was making its way through parliament.

Narube adds, “This is the most controversial Constitution in our history. It was imposed by the Fiji First government. We must not repeat the same mistakes that Fiji First party committed.”

“But tragically, it looks like this Government is committing the same mistakes all over again,” says the leader of Unity Fiji.

“The consultations held by the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) were wide geographically, but it was clearly not deep enough. The CRC called for the people to come to where they were to make submissions verbally and in writing. But only a fraction of the population did that which is not surprising, knowing the culture and behaviours of the Fijian people.”

“We have no choice but to take the consultations to the grassroots,” stressed the former Governor.

“We must visit the communities, villages and settlements to explain the proposed amendments in their language and get their feedback. That is the only way we can confirm that the people have been consulted.”

“To do it well, this process will take time. In my assessment, we need at least 6 months to do these consultations at the community level.”

“There is no need whatsoever to rush this very important work for political expediency. We must invest time on it. We can then confidently say that the people’s voices have been heard, and this new Constitution can serve them well for a very long time.”

“I sincerely hope that common sense prevails,” concludes Narube.

“THE 2022 AND 2026 ELECTIONS ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT”

In his speech at the launch of Unity Fiji’s 2026 manifesto in Sigatoka last Friday, the leader of the party, Savenaca Narube, answered several questions that people have posed to him about the party.

The first question was, “Unity Fiji has failed twice to get into parliament. Why does it think it can be successful this time around?”

Narube explained the reasons why Unity Fiji will succeed in the 2026 elections:
• First, it takes time for voters in Fiji to change their minds. Many have been brainwashed to vote for their old parties irrespective of their performance or the lack of it. One of the most frustrating things in Fiji politics is that voters do not realise that their votes and what is happening in their everyday lives are intertwined. The burdens that they are carrying with their families are directly linked to their votes. We have paid a huge price for our wrong votes.
• Second, voters are simply fed up with this Government. This is the greatest difference between the 2022 and this election. Our high hopes for change by this Government have been dashed. Our trust has been betrayed. Voters are abandoning the parties that they voted for in 2022 and moving to Unity Fiji.
• Third, voters are realising that the root cause of all our problems is the lack of money. Unity Fiji’s priority is to therefore fix the economy. Fiji has lost its way in the last 25 years because of wrong leadership. People are realising that Fiji needs an expert to fix the economy. People are saying that when you get sick you do not go to a Vet—you go to a doctor. The economy is seriously ill. Unity is the most qualified doctor of the economy.
• Lastly, the people need to look at the trend in political party votes. The votes for Fiji First started to decline in 2018. It declined further in 2022 and now the party is no more.

The votes for SODELPA also started declining in 2018. It dropped heavily by more than 100% in 2022. Their seats in parliament declined from 18 to only 3.
Compare these with the votes for Unity Fiji. Our trend is upwards not downwards.

Although Unity Fiji did not reach the threshold, it more than doubled its votes in 2022. At the same time, the Unity Fiji party leader’s vote was the 24th largest in 2018 but rose to 6th largest in 2022.

These data clearly show that Unity Fiji is a growing party. It was just a matter of time.
As more and more people know of the party, Unity Fiji’s votes will skyrocket. This is already happening. END