Sir Rabbie was identified by the United Nations and Commonwealth, and was made known to party leaders at its political meeting held at the Parliament Complex in Suva on Friday.
The meeting heard two more names were proposed by the U.N. and Commonwealth to assist Sir Rabbie chair the forum.
Also, four names have been nominated and put to the floor at yesterday’s meeting, whom political leaders will have to nominate two.
The four are Betty Bigombe, a former minister with various portfolios in the government of Uganda and former senior fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace; K.D Knight, a former minister of foreign affairs in Jamaica and an electoral observer at Fiji’s 2006 elections; Stephen Owen, QC, a former minister with various portfolios in Canada; and Maj. Gen. Joseph Singh, a former chairman of the Guyana Elections office.
Two political parties — the General Voters Party and Conservative Alliance Matanitu Vanua — have questioned the endorsement of Sir Rabbie.
The two parties said the U.N. and Commonwealth’s intention to help Fiji in mediating the forum was not genuine.
GVP spokesman Fred Caine said the names forwarded as the mediators are new to them and nobody in Fiji knew them.
“How can they solve our problems if they don’t know and understand us? Even the proposed chairman proposed to us is unacceptable and we do not have confidence in him,” Caine said.
“The Commonwealth and the U.N. want us to finish the [forum] in six months and go straight into elections without the necessary reforms,” he said.
CAMV spokesman Ropate Sivo said they did not want the people of Fiji to be fooled by the U.N. and the Commonwealth.
Sivo said the Party proposed that the Melanesian Spearhead Group facilitated the meet.
Meanwhile, Fiji’s Ousted ruling party the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua Party has hailed the second political leaders meeting and described it a fruitful one.
SDL leader and former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase said the agenda of the [forum] took prominence…to which party leaders and representatives reached a consensus on.”
The forum’s terms of reference will be discussed at the third next meeting scheduled for April 3.
“The atmosphere of the meet was good and there was a genuine intent among leaders to come to a consensus regarding issues that have to be ironed out before an election is held,” Qarase told Fijilive.
He said while political parties were happy with the names of mediators forwarded by the United Nations and the Commonwealth, the interim government had reservations about the names.
“We all are hoping that these issues will be ironed out when we meet next, and the SDL will only talk about what their stance is on the agenda during the [forum],” he said.
