Prem Singh (Fijian politician)

The Honourable
Prem Singh
Leader of the Opposition
In office
October 2001 – September 2002
Prime MinisterLaisenia Qarase
Preceded byRatu Inoke Kubuabola
Succeeded byMick Beddoes
Member of the Fijian Parliament
for NFP List
In office
17 September 2014 – 14 November 2018
Member of the Fijian Parliament
for Nadi
In office
September 2001 – August 2002

Prem Singh is an Indo-Fijian politician and a former member of the Fijian Parliament. He is a member of the National Federation Party (NFP).

Singh was educated in Fiji and at Wellington Polytechnic in New Zealand.[1] He served three terms on the Nadi town council, and was deputy mayor from 1999 to 2001.[2] He is a founding member of the Fiji Cane Growers Association.[2]

Singh contested the 2001 election for the NFP, winning the Nadi Open constituency and becoming the only member of his party to win a seat in the House of Representatives of Fiji. He was subsequently appointed Leader of the Opposition,[3] after Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry declined the office. In February 2002 he lost his seat after an election petition.[4] Singh appealed this decision to the Supreme Court which ruled that even though the ruling was incorrect, the Constitution did not allow for the appeal of a Court of Disputed Returns ruling.[5] He was replaced as Leader of the Opposition by Mick Beddoes.[6]

Singh was re-elected to Parliament in the 2014 election, winning 1125 votes.[7][3]

In September 2016 the High Court found that Singh had violated the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Decree 2013 by under declaring value of estate held in Nadi.[8] The finding was later upheld by the Court of Appeal, and referred to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption.[9]

Singh gained only 926 votes in the 2018 election and was not re-elected. He contested the 2022 election, winning 642 votes,[10] but again missed out on re-election.

References

  1. ^ "Vote Prem Singh" (PDF). NFP. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b "People: Prem Singh of Nadi". National Federation Party. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  3. ^ a b Aqela Susu (27 September 2014). "Singh Eyes Effective Opposition". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  4. ^ Prasad v Singh, 2002 FJHC 8 (High Court of Fiji 2002-02-08).
  5. ^ "Fiji prime minister wants by-election after Prem Singh's ousting". RNZ. 30 August 2002. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  6. ^ "New opposition leader in Fiji". RNZ. 30 October 2002. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  7. ^ "2014 Election Results". Fiji Elections Office. Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  8. ^ Jyoti Pratibha (9 September 2016). "COURT: MP Guilty Of Breaches". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  9. ^ Jyoti Pratibha (6 October 2018). "Court battle reveals that National Federation Party Provisional Candidate Falsified the Value of His Late Father's Estate". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Prem Singh (336)". Fijian Elections Office. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
Preceded by Leader of the Opposition
2001–2002 		Succeeded by