The motion of no confidence against Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama which was tabled by opposition MP, Semesa Karavaki, was defeated in parliament earlier this afternoon.
The motion was also pushing for Ro Teimumu Kepa to be the new Prime Minister.
28 MPs voted against the motion while 11 said yes to the opposition’s motion.
11 parliamentarians did not vote.
Looking at today’s proceeding :
Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama made it clear in parliament today that Opposition Leader, Ro Teimumu Kepa is sitting in parliament as a politician, not as a chief.
During the debate on the no confidence motion, the Education Minister, Doctor Mahendra Reddy was interrupted a number of times as he was speaking in support of the Prime Minister.
Doctor Reddy was sharing a story about how Bainimarama made an unplanned stop at a bus shelter in Vanua Levu to speak to some people gathered to discuss some issues with him.
Doctor Reddy says Bainimarama sat on the floor as there were no seats at the bus shelter. He spoke to the people for about 45 minutes.
The Education Minister then spoke to one of the staff travelling with him and asked if Ro Teimumu would have done this.
Opposition MP, Viliame Gavoka then asked Doctor Reddy to withdraw his comments.
The Prime Minister made it clear that they are talking about issues in parliament and it had nothing to do with Ro Teimumu’s chiefly title.
In her response, Ro Teimumu says she also sits on the floor in her village.
Govt members strongly support PM during debate
Government members came out strongly to speak in support of Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama in parliament today.
While tabling the motion, opposition MP, Semesa Karavaki said that they want Opposition Leader, Ro Teimumu Kepa to be the Prime Minister of Fiji by the end of today.
Karavaki says they are against many policies and decisions including the plan to change the Fiji flag and the decision to have equal distribution of Itaukei land lease money.
Opposition MP, Viliame Gavoka also says that Ro Teimumu should be chosen as the Prime Minister as she is a healer.
He asked for 10 percent of the lease money to be put aside for the vanua as he claims that the equal distribution of Itaukei land lease money is not working well.
Concerns were also raised on why all the citizens in the country are called Fijian.
Minister for Poverty Alleviation, Rosy Akbar says the Prime Minister looks after the interests of everyone in the country and is very fair.
She also spoke about the issue regarding a common name.
Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the opposition should respect and uphold democracy, and understand that majority of the people voted for the Prime Minister. He said that they can wait for the election in 2018 and not create unnecessary fear by tabling a motion of no confidence.
Assistant Minister for Local Government, Lorna Eden says this is the most idiotic move by the opposition since parliament started.
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