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Fiji PM reluctantly holds out a hand to Chaudhry

Shailendra Singh in Suva

Fiji's new prime minister Laisenia Qarase has said he would invite deposed premier Mahendra Chaudhry, whom he outmanoeuvred after the election, to join his cabinet.

Qarase, Fiji's sixth prime minister, said he would invite Chaudhry's Fiji Labour Party to join his cabinet, but made it clear that he was doing so because the constitution compels him to do so.

Under the 1997 constitution, the FLP is entitled to eight seats in the cabinet.

There have been increasing calls for Qarase to invite Chaudhry to be part of his cabinet, though both leaders say their conflicting ideologies make it difficult for such a government to function effectively.

Qarase's Soqosoqo ni Duavata ni Lewe ni Vanua (SDL) party won 31 seats in the 71-member parliament. Chaudhry's party secured 27, giving Qarase the edge. Earlier, Chaudhry had tried to reclaim the premiership snatched from him in a coup in May last year despite threats that Fiji would see more bloodshed if he returned to power.

While Qarase did not have the 37-seat majority needed to form the government on his own, the swearing-in was deemed legal by President Ratu Josefa Iloilo's advisers as the SDL won most seats and had a workable majority.

Qarase said: "I have made it no secret that I would be happy if he [Chaudhry] does not accept because it would be an unworkable government."

"Supposing he accepts, his party will be entitled to eight seats. We get 12 and I have an obligation to give some of our seats to smaller parties. If I give five and I end up with seven, the numbers don't stack. We will be a government that will not function properly."

"In the next 48 hours, I will be making recommendations in relation to members of my cabinet. I can say the cabinet will be a very strong one with a lot of talent. We are all ready to take Fiji forward," said Qarase, who was the nation's interim prime minister for 14 months after the coup.

Former premier Sitiveni Rabuka, however, urged the two leaders to bury the hatchet. "The onus will be on Qarase to invite all parties that have over 10 per cent or more seats to be part of his government. Qarase has to approach Chaudhry and the FLP."

"They are the only two parties that are constitutionally entitled to be part of the cabinet. My personal opinion is that Qarase must invite the FLP. It will then be on FLP to either accept or refuse. If they accept, they become part of a constitutionally correct government. It would be very good for Fiji. Both the major races will be represented."

Chaudhry and his party are still considering their options. "A number of our policies are diametrically opposed to each other. It's not a question of simply getting in there to run a government and then running into trouble at the first cabinet meeting," Chaudhry said.

"Running a country is serious business and there's a lot of work to do and if one jumps at the opportunity to run the government without first sorting out some of the fundamentals, then I'm afraid it will lead to more instability. So all these options have to be weighed very carefully as to who you go to bed with and what their policies are."

But some people say Chaudhry is negotiating with the Conservative Alliance, which is demanding that coup leader George Speight be pardoned. They see no reason why talks can't be held with SDL.

Indo-Asian News Service

EARLIER REPORTS:
Speight, Chaudhry win seats, face-off likely
Fijian parties unite to keep Chaudhry out

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