Mr. A.D. Patel and Jai Ram Reddy understood our differences, problems and common goals. These were rejected outright by the Indian voters and Mahendra Chaudry s Labour campaign message that led to their overwhelming victory and majority. The problem here was the new alternative and preferencial system of voting. In the seat for Lami Open, which I contested, in some instances one vote had up to 10 values and others just one value. This is manipulated democracy.
Democracy is one man one vote.
Because of lack of time, we did not study the system to ensure the Indigenous Fijians understood it for our preferences to win seats for our Indigenous cause. But we were politically naive and ignorant. Perhaps we needed to experience failure to learn a very bitter lesson on vision and strategic management. The resulting dominance of the Indo-Fijian community in the last elections plus Mahendra Chaudhry s autocratic leadership style and interests threatened our very survival and the Indigenous National extremists instinctually reacted leading to the present crises. The signs were obvious but Mahendra and his Indigenous Fijian Ministers were lulled into a false sense of security with their overwhelming majority arrived at by a system of voting that was confusing, undemocratic and unwieldy.