Fiji Labour Party Leader, Mahendra Chaudhry said he will hold on to the leadership of the FLP and file his nomination to contest the September 17th general elections.
Although Chaudhry is ineligible to contest the general election after he was convicted of three counts of breach of the Exchange Control Act which carries a maximum sentence of two years.
The 2013 constitution clearly states that a person may be a candidate for election to parliament only if the person has not, at any time during the eight years immediately before being nominated, been convicted of any offence under any law for which the maximum penalty is a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more.
Although it is clear at this stage that Chaudhry cannot contest the election, Chaudhry said he will not give up and challenge it.
Under the Political Parties Registration Decree, a person is disqualified from being an office holder of a political party if that person has, in the five years preceding the date when he or she applies to become an office holder of the political party, has been convicted of an offence and sentenced to imprisonment for a period of not less than six months.
In Chaudhry’s case, he has been fined $2 million and he only faces the 15 months prison sentence if he does not pay the fine by the 30th of June this year.
This means that Chaudhry can continue to be the FLP Leader as he is not facing a prison sentence at this stage.
When asked on whether any plans are in place to change the leadership of the FLP as Chaudhry is ineligible to contest the election, Mahendra Chaudhry said he is the leader of the party and there have been no discussions on changes.
Chaudhry’s lawyers have confirmed that they intend to file an appeal application in the Fiji Court of Appeal.
Lawyer, Anand Singh said they will appeal Chaudhry’s conviction and sentence.
Story by: Vijay Narayan and Watisoni Butabua
