WHILE some political parties have raised a lot of concerns on the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Decree 2013 the Justice and Freedom Party has welcome some provisions in the new law.
Party general-secretary Dildar Shah said there were some positive vibes in the decree that deserved praise such as returning the neutrality of the public servants.
"If we go back in the early 80s most of the trade unions had an entrenched provision that their officials could not take part in politics unless they resigned," Mr Shah said.
"This is a very good move for a democratic government," he added.
However, he said they were worried with the costs they had to incur in getting registered as a party but as far as their party was concerned they owed it to their members.
"We will do everything to register," he said.
Attorney-General and Minister for Electoral Reform Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum in an interview earlier this week said political parties' claimed that the $5005 registration fee and the collection of 5000 signatures within 28 days were unrealistic — were baseless.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the $5005 registration fee was well within people's means and not exorbitant as claimed by political party leaders.
Meanwhile, Mr Shah said since they were seeking redress for the wrongs to the indentured labourers and would need a political party that could speak on these wrongs.
The decree which was announced by Mr Sayed-Khaiyum set out a modern and transparent process for the registration and conduct of political parties.
The decree has also for the first time in Fiji introduced accountability and transparency with respect to funding and accounts of political parties.
An application must be accompanied by a fee of $5005 — one dollar for each member and the five original applicants.