With depression settling all around at the endorsement of dictatorship by voters, Wadan Narsey has shone a bright light into all the gloom to give his take on why the voters did what they did. Given he’s an economist it’s no surprise that he thinks bread and butter issues decided it for most voters, along with the fanning of fears of ethno-nationalism among the Indo-Fijian voters. Free education, free water, lots of scholarships all played their part. Governance issues raised by all opposition parties didn’t grab with the voters. Now if Bainimarama and Khaiyum don’t honour their promises in full the voters will have only weak accountability mechanisms to hold the government to account.
Fiji Times 21 Sept 2014 The Voting Behaviour in the Fiji 2014 Elections
Fiji Democracy Now Blog 
September 22, 2014 at 9:13 am |
Is this the same Wadan that said that no single party will win the election?
If anyone was creating fear it was sodelpa Wadan?
Anyway, go take your medicine and sleep.
September 22, 2014 at 7:30 pm |
Prof Narsey, Dr Ratuva and numerous other experts all predicted that it would be very difficult for any one party to obtain a clear win on the assumption that everything was above board.
But if, as many have quipped, you are the referee and the player it stands to reason that outcomes will be different.
September 23, 2014 at 12:30 am |
I think Wadan did a great job…and I enjoy reading his stuff and the man does know what he is talking about.
Unlike Victor Lal…who is out there with his own agenda…and did you see him in Fijileaks today beat up on some Sudhakar dude – who the hell is Sudhakar.
The sad part is that some of the best and the brightest who opposed this regime kept a low profile and it is idiots like Victor Lal appointed themselves to lead this opposition.
OK Victor – go back to beating up on the Daku – and now you the SODELPA also…because they told you to FO also….yeah, keep at it..that Sudhakar, the cockroach killer guy will keep you busy for a few months.
Boy, I can’t stand this Victor guy….and Sudhakar, the Gunda Gulam Dastgir is now jerking Victor’s leash.
Yeah Victor….I am Gubbar Singh…ab tera kya hoga…..
September 23, 2014 at 12:48 am |
Yes we shall be watching with interest how far the bread and butter scramble lasts before governance becomes an issue. It doesn’t take rocket science to understand where this is all heading to. With all the squeeze on people’s living standards, deprivation of opportunity, and little effort to promote self reliance, Fiji citizens will increasingly be at the the mercy of its self-centric rulers. Scholarships given freely that hardly help self-sustainance because of no jobs! Invitation made freely to invest but minimal investment because confidence is low. With substandard productivity and persisting questionable nature of democracy, Fiji’s scramble for bread and butter may not get the country far! Yes it satisfies today but not tomorrow. Lessons from ascribing legitimacy to rogue regimes through dubious means (as seen by the way the election was staged) are many that Fiji could have learned from, but the nation has been blinded by bread and butter for the present day. It is apparent that Fiji may have to learn the hard way in order to set the country on the right path. The current mode of ruler handing out bread and butter to peasants deprived of jobs and who offer little in return in terms of produtivity is not a formular for nation building but of self destruction!
September 23, 2014 at 3:26 am |
I agree Kainoqu. Wadan calls it bread and butter. The same phenomenon can be labelled as the Stockholm Syndrome. As you and others might know, as shown in the case in Stockholm, Sweden in 1993 I think, captives developed a certain bond with their captors after a while. People have suggested that it was a defence and survival response to keep them alive and hopefully earn the sympathy of their rulers.
I strongly believe that this was the case in Fiji, assuming that there was no fraud. In our case, there was a mix of fundamental factors that gave Voreqe the win. As Wadan has said, its the bread and butter issues, economically speaking. But from a sociologist, psychologist perspective, it is people trying to survive. Given that our poverty benchmarks have reached record levels, Voreqe’s win is indeed a resounding cry for help to the dictator,
“Please, help us survive. We cannot afford even the basics. Please Voreqe. We are dying. Let us live.”
September 23, 2014 at 4:36 am |
Let me share with you, Putin’s Speech on February 4th, 2013.
DUa ga na I kolo tu ni mata ni siga ena yakavi nikua.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, addressed the Duma, (Russian Parliament), and gave a speech about the tensions with minorities in Russia:
“In Russia live Russians. Any minority, from anywhere, if it wants to live in Russia, to work and eat in Russia, should speak Russian, and should respect the Russian laws. If they prefer Sharia Law, then we advise them to go to those places where that’s the state law. Russia does not need minorities. Minorities need Russia, and we will not grant them special privileges, or try to change our laws to fit their desires, no matter how loud they yell ‘discrimination’. We better learn from the suicides of America, England, Holland and France, if we are to survive as a nation. The Russian customs and traditions are not compatible with the lack of culture or the primitive ways of most minorities. When this honorable legislative body thinks of creating new laws, it should have in mind the national interest first, observing that the minorities are not Russians.
If you keep this to yourself, you are part of the problem!
FIJI DOES NOT NEED MINORITIES.
MINORITIES NEED FIJI.
So brothers in Christ… “OBSERVE THAT THE MINORITIES ARE NOT FIJIANS”
Period.
September 23, 2014 at 6:00 am |
Hey Lix…….this is exactly the attitude that got us beat in the last election and which will get us defeated in the next election and the next. And when the minorities are gone, we will then fight amongst ourselves.
And that Putin speech is a hoax.
Here is an analysis of your bullcrap speech.
“There is no record of Putin making such a speech. Nor are there any credible news reports about the Russian President’s supposed words. The message is strongly reminiscent of a factually flawed email forward that claimed that the Australian Prime Minister stated that immigrants should adapt to Australian culture, language and beliefs or leave the country and that Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law should get out of Australia. “
September 23, 2014 at 10:50 am |
@ Lix
One is foolish to pretend being a brother in Christ when one is not standing with the minority, the cast aside, the lowly, the humble, the suffering and the weak. You are categorically disregarding the minority at your peril there by taking such view. We know of one Man that stands with the minority. He is a man of righteousness and justice. He is not a man of malice, deception, corruption, and full of himself. He is definitely not a man of self-serving schemes. The lessons are many that you should draw from about minorities who end up toppling dictatorial leadership. Fiji has seen a minority seed planted in this election, a seed that is born out of the will to do what is right and what is just for the betterment of society. If as proven from history how minorities grow and overtake the powerful, there is hope that this will seed grow to become the biggest plant in Fiji bearing fruits of fairness, equality, freedom justice and progress for all. This would be best for the nation in the long the term than continuing with self-serving rules flowered with freebees that the Baikhai majority is going by now!
September 23, 2014 at 10:26 pm |
Well said Kainoqu. Friends, I hope that we as a nation will live our lives, based on eternal fundamentals such as love, truth, righteousness, freedom and justice. Unless we do so, our moments of victory and celebration, peace and prosperity will be few and far between. Hope will be replaced with despair. Joy will turn into sorrow and laughter shall turn to agony.
History teaches us many valuable lessons that we might disregard at our own peril. Our love for God and His righteousness and our love for one another, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, language or culture, must be that solid and immoveable foundation upon which we build our personal lives, our corporations and our nation. Fiji has gone to the wolves, apparently, as many have sold their souls to the devil. They have, rightly or wrongly, exchanged their bread and butter for righteousness, truth and justice. Make no mistake, we shall all pay dearly for this and shall suffer our due judgement.
But through suffering can emerge wisdom, just as the metal is purified and becomes steel through tremendous heat. I hope that this election and the new Parliament will teach us one of our most valuable lessons as a small and young nation. We must never exchange our souls with the world of things. We must never allow materialism take the place of our God. We must never believe that lasting peace, progress and prosperity shall come from acts of injustice, immorality and lawlessness. May we learn and grow and develop a better character as a nation through what we shall experience in the coming days and months. May God grant us the wisdom and the courage to make the appropriate decisions and take necessary actions.
September 23, 2014 at 11:35 pm |
Believe all you want and say all you want KB. I don’t care whether The Russian President’s speech is a hoax but all I know is that this world will never get better as time goes by. Promises will be made to gullible people who are easily influenced by the pleasures of the flesh like you.
During past public gatherings, only Christian sermons are practiced. But now, we observe different religions in these kinds of gatherings and we are deemed as equals. Yes we’re equal in the eyes of the lord but remember he despises idle worshipers and sinners.
All Fijians (kai viti or Itaukei) is a Christian and if you’re a real Christian than you need not to worry about losing this election or the next. All of us (Christians) have something to look forward to afterlife.
My point is because of these minorities, people like YOU are blinded.
My reference: Psalms 73: 1-17.
Sa dri yani….
September 24, 2014 at 12:00 am |
Lix, you are just an idiot….no different from a Islamic Jihadist or a Hindu Fundamentalist…and and no, your lord does not despise them “idol worshipers” ….you do.
BTW – how did you figure out that I was a minority…didn’t I say in my post that “And when the minorities are gone, we will then fight amongst ourselves.”
You see brother…..It is just that we want to create a better society for our children – with justice, fairness, equality and all – and we can do this….there is no “us and them” – we are all “us”…we the people of Fiji.
Racism and prejudice – we are not born with it….we are taught that….that is the difference between you and I – we were brought up differently by our parents.
I will leave you with this nice quote,
“Religion is an insult to human dignity [any religion]. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.”
September 24, 2014 at 12:40 am |
I am not basing my point from religion you idiot. read that scripture and you will know the difference. between us and them. you idle kisser..
September 24, 2014 at 12:50 am |
Vinaka Lix. I tend to agree with you. Regardless if the speech was true or not.
Its evident that the government have deviated from initial purpose of the iTaukei Institutions- where there is respect for the indigenous people; advocating, promoting and championing their rights, culture, traditions and most of all their intellect.
To you Kainoqu and Tom, In trying to live our Fijian lives according to eternal (Christian) fundamentals, we should be reminded of the Israelites quest for the Promised Land which had clear instruction from God. The Canaanites had been subdued, yet they still possessed a considerable portion of the land promised to Israel, and Joshua exhorted his people not to settle down at ease and forget the Lord’s command to utterly dispossess these idolatrous nations. The people in general were slow to complete the work of driving out the heathen. The tribes had dispersed to their possessions, the army had disbanded, and it was looked upon as a difficult and doubtful undertaking to renew the war. But Joshua declared: “The Lord your God, He shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord your God hath promised unto you. Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left.”
Satan deceives many with the plausible theory that God’s love for His people is so great that He will excuse sin in them; he represents that while the threatenings of God’s word are to serve a certain purpose in His moral government, they are never to be literally fulfilled. But in all His dealings with his creatures God has maintained the principles of righteousness by REVEALING SIN IN ITS RUE CHARACTER–by demonstrating that its sure result is misery and death. The unconditional pardon of sin never has been, and never will be. Such pardon would show the abandonment of the principles of righteousness, which are the very foundation of the government of God. It would fill the unfallen universe with consternation. God has faithfully pointed out the results of sin, and if these warnings were not true, how could we be sure that His promises would be fulfilled? That so-called benevolence which would set aside justice is not benevolence but weakness.
KANA JIKO, RAI JIKO, Kida Jiko!
September 24, 2014 at 1:54 am |
Yes Lix, you were not basing your “point from religion you idiot.” You just want me to “read that scripture and you will know the difference. between us and them.”
And I like the line about “you idle kisser.”….BTW – it is idol not Idle…once I would have let it go, twice….you one no school fool.
Of course religion had nothing to do with it, right? “All of us (Christians) have something to look forward to afterlife.”…and the rest of them…they will go to hell….except them Hindus….they will probably be born again as slum dogs…right?
and we are brothers in CHRIST….right? nothing about religion.
……but then again I knew that there was a relationship between tolerance and intellectual development.
September 24, 2014 at 10:44 am |
@ batileka and others on this thread
Thanks for contributing in the discussion. It is indeed a useful way of searching answers and attaining understanding. Batileka has referred to ‘heathen’ above and it struck me to enquire what it really means? Is it a people or a practice or a culture or a social norm?
September 24, 2014 at 8:16 pm |
Dude KB where is the love???
September 24, 2014 at 9:42 pm |
Thank you for the correction KB.
Well it was nice debating with you but I think it going out of hand.
Have a blessed day and good luck hating other fellow Fijians.