The military has revealed that they are monitoring political party statements and the movements of people like ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase.
Republic of Fiji Military Force (RFMF) spokesperson Major Neumi Leweni said they know that Qarase has been saying that people are getting frustrated if there are no elections.
In an interview with Fijivillage, Qarase said various options are being looked at by the political parties to ensure that elections are held next year.
"There needs to be constant pressure applied on the government by the NGOs, the political parties and other organizations that the way forward for Fiji would be to have an elected government as early as possible. If we don’t have the elections next year, one thing for sure, the economy will collapse because we are not witnessing any significant investment – the investors are keeping away at the moment – both local and overseas. Other options that we can follow? I think only time will tell. But there is no doubt, the longer the delay in having elections the more frustrated people will become and in what form that frustration takes place is anybody’s guess."
However, Major Leweni has made it clear that they are watching Qarase very closely as the RFMF stresses that people should just wait for all reforms to be completed before election dates are announced.
"All these people are doing is trying to play on the emotions of the grass-roots people to try and rally support and that is exactly what Qarase is talking about here – that’s nothing new to us. We have always kept close tabs on his moves and what he’s saying and that is really nothing new. And we are monitoring all that they’re saying and all they think they want to do and it is nothing new to us."
