Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Lenora Qereqeretabua said it is important for the Fiji government to be represented at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2024 Samoa.

Speaking to The Fiji Times, Ms Qereqeretabua said it was a great time for Fiji’s inclusion as it was important to be heard as a country.

“It is important for us to be here and to be one of the many voices in the Pacific in particular when Fiji wanted to be a leader within the region,” Ms Qereqeretabua said.

IT’S the responsibility of political parties to ensure that more women take part in local and national elections, says Assistant Foreign Minister and Deputy Speaker Lenora Qereqeretabua.

Additionally, Ms Qereqeretabua said making political life safer for women was crucial.

The 2022 Fiji general election, for 55 seats in the Parliament, will take place on 14 December 2022. So far 316 provisional candidates have been named from 8 of the 9 political parties of which 55 are women—17 per cent of the total number. The figure is likely to increase with more provisional names expected to be announced soon. A political party may nominate up to 55 candidates by midday of 14 November 2022.

Young eligible Fijians are encouraged to take part in the 2022 General Elections.

Young eligible Fijians are encouraged to take part in the 2022 General Elections.

United Nations Senior Peace and Development Advisor in the Pacific, Agus Wandi made this comment at the ‘2022 Fijian National Elections: A Dialogue On The Issues That Matter’ event hosted at the Warwick Fiji in the Coral Coast on Thursday.