NZ’s McCully satisfied Fiji’s timetable towards democracy running to plan

Posted at 21:14 on 23 July, 2012 UTC

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray McCully says he’s satisfied that Fiji’s timetable towards democracy is running to plan.

Mr McCully met Fiji’s interim Foreign Minister, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, in Suva at the weekend following a week which saw strong criticism of the regime by the body appointed to consult on a new constitution before elections in 2014.

The Constitution Commission criticised decrees which give immunity to the regime and lay out how the constitution will be finalised and it also raised concerns about restrictions on court access and media freedoms in Fiji.

But Mr McCully says he remains encouraged.

“We’re watching all these developments and it’s a complex situation, we weren’t going to see things move overnight but we are seeing things move in the right direction.”

Mr McCully has confirmed New Zealand will contribute half a million dollars to the Constitution Commission as part of a 2 million dollar package towards elections.