Ketan Lal rejects call for reserved seats for minorities

Opposition MP Ketan Lal has firmly opposed the recent calls for reserved parliamentary seats for minority groups, including the proposal raised during the Electoral Law Reform Commission consultation in Rotuma.

He says Fiji’s current electoral system is rooted in fairness—one person, one vote, one value thanks to the 2013 Fijian Constitution.

Lal says it gives every Fijian an equal voice, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or background and that is the kind of democracy we must protect.

The MP says we do not need to divide Parliament along racial or ethnic line and what we need is unity and leaders who do not represent races, but represent all Fijians.

He says we need leaders who understand the struggles of the people, rise above identity politics, and who focus on the issues that actually matter.

The MP says he stands for a new kind of leadership — a leadership that speaks to the future, not the past and this outdated thinking of ethnic seat reservations does not reflect the aspirations of the youth of this country.

He says they are not interested in leaders who want to take us back to communal politics but we want leaders who bring ideas, not divisions.

The MP stresses that the youth of Fiji — the future of this nation— want leaders who can take this country forward and face the internal and global challenges head-on.

He says they want job creation, economic growth, security, and a government that can help every Fijian put food on the table.

Lal says bread and butter issues must be at the forefront—not race, not division, not communal voting systems.

He stresses that the future of Fiji is inclusive and it is built by past leaders (like Voreqe Bainimarama) with vision, courage, and the ability to unify—not by creating separate categories for representation.

The Opposition MP says political parties must play their part by building diverse slates of candidates and ensuring every Fijian sees themselves represented — not through tokenism, but through merit and action.

He adds we must not go backward, we must go forward—together, as one Fiji, one people, one nation.

Public consultations on the review of the Electoral Act 2014, the Electoral (Registration of Voters) Act 2012, and the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Act 2013 is expected to continue this week.