IQ check by Jon Fraenkel on Frank Bainimarama “We’ve had lots of evidence to suggest this, that he doesn’t seem to quite know where he’s going with the whole thing.”

Plans for Bainimarama’s Fiji are vague, says academic

Posted at 04:50 on 06 March, 2012 UTC

An Australia-based academic Jon Fraenkel says a recent interview with Fiji regime leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama is further evidence he has no clear plans for Fiji’s promised constitutional review and elections.

The interim Prime Minister has given a rare interview to a foreign journalist, in which he agreed he might stand in elections, promised for 2014.

He also said he did not know what form the elections set for 2014 would take but he presumed Fiji would continue where it had left off.

He also said anyone could stand in the elections and there would be equal suffrage.

Dr Fraenkel says the Commodore appeared reticent and goaded into replies by his interviewee.

“The only interesting thing in the interview really that he said himself was that he’s not really sure what he’s doing. On the issue of specific new institutional provisions proposed for this constitutional review, Bainimarama is quite clear. We’ve had lots of evidence to suggest this, that he doesn’t seem to quite know where he’s going with the whole thing.”

Dr Jon Fraenkel of the Australian National University

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