Issue No: 729; 3 May 2001

The Qarase regime had promised earlier that elections under the 1997 Constitution will be held during the last week of August.

But political observers claim that the regime does not want elections in August. They state that the chances of the members of the Qarase team winning the election are very slim. Because of this, the Qarase regime is looking at excuses to defer the election. Some strategists are toying with the excuse that the ethnic Fijians are divided and an election will unnecessarily hinder the process of ethnic Fijian unity.

It is also believed that there is a lot of tension within the security forces after revelations that some senior military officers, still in the army, and some senior police officers, were supporting the terrorists.

Observers also claim that some money has also changed hands.

It is rumoured that a large local company, which has been a major beneficiary of the collapse of the People's Coalition Government, is unhappy with August elections.

Meanwhile the regime has convinced the President to reappoint the Constitution Review Commission. The CRC is to give its report by 31 August, the week during which the elections are scheduled.

Observers believe that the regime will also use the excuse that a new constitution is needed before the election, and that substantial work towards a new constitution has been done by the CRC.