Parveen Bala | |
---|---|
Minister for Employment, Productivity, Industrial Relations, Youth and Sports. | |
In office 21 November 2018 –24 December 2022 | |
Prime Minister | Frank Bainimarama |
Preceded by | Laisenia Tuitubou |
Succeeded by | Agni Deo Singh |
Minister of Infrastructure and Transport | |
In office 12 May 2015 –21 November 2018 | |
Preceded by | Pio Tikoduadua |
Succeeded by | Jone Usamate |
Minister for Local Government,Housing and Environment | |
In office 23 September 2014 –21 November 2018 | |
Succeeded by | Premila Kumar (local govt and housing) Mahendra Reddy (environment) |
Mayor of Ba | |
In office 1996–2009 | |
Succeeded by | None (position disestablished) |
Member of the Fijian Parliament for FijiFirst List | |
Assumed office 17 September 2014 | |
Personal details | |
Political party | National Federation Party FijiFirst |
Parveen Kumar Bala is a Fijian politician and former Cabinet Minister. He served as Mayor of Ba from 1997 to 2009,and in the Cabinet of Frank Bainimarama from 2014 to 2022. He is a former president of the Fiji Local Government Association. [1]
Bala was first elected Mayor of Ba in 1997,becoming the youngest mayor in the country. He held the position for 12 years,until the military regime disestablished elected local government following the 2006 Fijian coup d'état. [2] [3]
Bala was also an unsuccessful National Federation Party candidate for the House of Representatives in the 2001 election. He polled 28 percent of the vote in the Ba East Indian Communal Constituency. [4] He stood again at the 2006 election,but again failed to win the seat. [5]
Following the 2006 Fijian coup d'état,Bala was appointed Special Administrator of Lautoka. [6] The new Special Administrator for Ba (a non-elected position roughly analogous to mayor) is Arun Pravad. [7]
In November 2013 he was charged with dangerous driving causing death after a road accident in Lautoka. [8] The trial was delayed, [9] and despite facing charges he was selected as a candidate for the FijiFirst party in the 2014 Fijian general election and was ruled eligible to stand by Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem. [10] [11] He was elected with 6,358 votes. He was acquitted of the charge in July 2016. [12] [13]
Following the election he was appointed Minister for Local Government,Housing and Environment. [14] In May 2015 he was appointed Minister of Infrastructure and Transport following the resignation of Pio Tikoduadua. [15] As a Minister he promised to restore local government elections,but failed to do so. [16]
He was re-elected in the 2018 Fijian general election with 5,063 votes. [17] He was subsequently appointed Minister for Employment,Productivity and Industrial Relations,replacing Jone Usamate. [18]
He was selected again as a FijiFirst candidate for the 2022 Fijian general election, [19] and was re-elected,winning 3604 votes, [20] but FijiFirst lost its majority,and he became an opposition MP. [21]
The politics of Fiji take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. Fiji has a multiparty system with the Prime Minister of Fiji as head of government. The executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Fiji. The judiciary is mostly independent of the executive and the legislature.
The Fiji Labour Party,also known as Fiji Labour,is a political party in Fiji. Most of its support is from the Indo-Fijian community,although it is officially multiracial and its first leader was an indigenous Fijian,Dr. Timoci Bavadra. The party has been elected to power twice,with Timoci Bavadra and Mahendra Chaudhry becoming prime minister in 1987 and 1999 respectively. On both occasions,the resulting government was rapidly overthrown by a coup.
The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A.D. Patel in November 1968,as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party. Though it claims to represent all Fiji Islanders,it is supported,in practice,almost exclusively by Indo-Fijians whose ancestors had come to Fiji between 1879 and 1916,mostly as indentured labourers. However,in the 2018 general election,the party recorded a considerable change in its support base due to the inclusion of more indigenous Fijian candidates.
Lautoka is the second largest city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu,in the Ba Province of the Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing region,the city has come to be known as the Sugar City. Covering an area of 32 square kilometres,it had a population of 71,573 at the 2017 census,the most recent to date.
Nanise Nagusuca is a former Fijian politician. She was a member of the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua and Social Democratic Liberal parties. She was convicted of sedition in 2017 and sentenced to three years imprisonment.
Ofakilomaloma Swann,also known as Ofa Duncan,is a Fijian lawyer,academic,and former politician. She served in the House of Representatives of Fiji from 1999 to 2006,and was leader of the New Labour Unity Party.
Ba is a town in Fiji,37 kilometres from Lautoka and 62 kilometres from Nadi,inland from the coast of Viti Levu,Fiji's largest island. Covering an area of 327 square kilometres,it had a population of 14,596 at the 1996 census. The town is built on the banks of the Ba River,after which it is named. For a long time,Ba was famous for its soccer team which caused major traffic problems. The old bridge was washed away in the floods of 1990s and a new bridge built downstream. This resulted in the main highway bypassing Ba Town. Jiaxing City in China is Ba Town's sister city.
Local elections were held in Fiji on 22 October 2005 to elect the councils of eleven municipalities. In Suva,the elections for the Suva City Council were postponed until 12 November due to the death of two candidates;the death of a candidate in Lautoka also resulted in the postponement of the poll in one of the four wards.
Irami Ului Matairavula is a former Fijian politician and former Cabinet Minister.
Daniel Urai,also known as Daniel Urai Manufolau,is a Fijian trade unionist and former politician.
Marieta Rigamoto is a former Fijian civil servant,politician and Cabinet Minister.
Charan Jeath Singh is an Indo-Fijian businessman,politician,and Cabinet Minister. From 1992 to 2005 he was Mayor of Labasa. He is the founder of the CJS Group of companies.
Samiuela ʻAkilisi Pōhiva was a Tongan pro-democracy activist and politician. Pohiva,the leader of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands (DPFI),served as the Prime Minister of Tonga from 2014 to his death in 2019. He was only the fourth commoner to serve as Prime Minister,and the first commoner to be elected to that position by Parliament rather than appointed by the King.
Biman Prasad is a Fijian politician and economist who has served as the leader of the National Federation Party since 2014,and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance since 2022.
Lt Col Pio Tikoduadua is a Fijian politician,cabinet Minister and Member of the Parliament of Fiji. He is the current President of the National Federation Party.
Lynda Diseru Tabuya is a Fijian politician and lawyer who has served as the Minister for Women,Children and Poverty Alleviation since 24 December 2022.
Teva Rohfritsch is a French Polynesian politician and former Cabinet Minister. Since 2020 he has been one of French Polynesia's two senators in the French Senate,sitting with the Rally of Democrats,Progressives and Independents.
Ifereimi Vasu is a Fijian politician and Cabinet Minister. He is a member of the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA).
Siromi Dokonivalu Turaga is a Fijian lawyer,politician,and cabinet minister. Since 24 December 2022 he has been the Attorney-General of Fiji. He is a member of the People's Alliance.
Jese Saukuru is a Fijian politician,and Cabinet Minister. He is a member of the People's Alliance.