Bainimarama said Fiji will boycott the meeting, blaming a New Zealand decision to prevent its delegation from attending a post-Forum talks in Auckland.
“Fiji will still be, despite his (Bainimarama’s) absence, a major feature of leaders discussions in Niue,” Rudd said. “There is no reason why Commodore Bainimarama should not attend for those discussions as he did last year.”
At last year’s Forum he pledged to hold fresh elections by the end of March 2009, but has since backtracked from that position.
Rudd said Bainimarama “should meet his solemn commitment to hold elections by March next year.”
But Bainimarama said Fiji will not have a general election in March next year, reports The Fiji Times.
In a press conference, Bainimarama said any election has to be held under the new electoral system.
He said once the electoral system is agreed upon, it will take 12 to 15 months to hold the general election.
He told the media that he was pressured to agree to the March 2009 date at the Pacific Leaders Forum in Tonga last year because the Forum wanted a definite date.
