Prem Singh | |
---|---|
Leader of the Opposition | |
In office October 2001 –September 2002 | |
Prime Minister | Laisenia Qarase |
Preceded by | Ratu Inoke Kubuabola |
Succeeded by | Mick 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.
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