Acting Prime Minister and Minister Responsible for the Elections Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. Photo: RONALD KUMAR
By ROSI DOVIVERATA
The Commerce Commission does not have the legal authority to deliberate on a complaint by the now suspended Fiji Labour Party.
Acting Prime Minister and Minister Responsible for the Elections Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum told FBC News this yesterday. The Commerce Commission also wrote to the suspended Fiji Labour Party saying that the commission does not have the legal authority to make a determination.
The suspended Fiji Labour Party had earlier written to the commission questioning the way the Registrar of Political Parties advertised the party’s declaration of assets and liabilities in the Fiji Sun.
The same concern was also raised by the National Federation Party and Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA).
But Mr Sayed-Khaiyum was quoted by FBC News as saying: “The Commerce Commission has already written to the Labour Party saying it does not have that legal authority to make a determination.
“But nonetheless they have in-fact gone ahead and compared the rates that were charged by the Fiji Sun in respect to their advertisement and they also found the fact the rates that Fiji Sun charge were cheaper.
“The fact is that the registrar of political parties has obviously taken the decision for the suspension for the Fiji Labour Party on the basis that there was non-compliance to the actual law in place.
“Should the political party in question remedy the breach then obviously they can again operate as a political party and they are given sixty days to remedy their breach.”
The National Federation Party and SODELPA met the payment deadline required under the decree. Labour’s failure to pay the office of the Registrar of Political Parties by the deadline led to its suspension.
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