Lautoka: Fiji’s general election had been an example to the rest of the world’s developing countries, the Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, said after the conclusion of the first general election after Independence. He said that apart from the success of the Alliance Party, the greatest achievement of the election was the way it was run peacefully and without incidents. He was satisfied with the Alliance’s performance in the Indian communal constituencies, which were won by the National Federation Party. The Alliance had increased its percentage of votes. The Prime Minister was asked by reporters how the Alliance explained its unexpected successes in some of the constituencies where the party fought national seats. He said that he did not regard the victories as unexpected. He expected to win these seats as the party organisation was very good in these areas. On the failure of the NFP to attract substantial Fijian support, Ratu Sir Kamisese said the leaders of the party did not understand the Fijian social structure. Its greatest error was the attempt to condemn the chiefs system. The National Federation Party members did not realise that in the Fijian patriarchal society, the chief was the head of the big family. When someone condemned the head of a family, he condemned the whole of the family. He thought the great support of the Alliance had from the Fijians was because of the attention the Government gave to rural areas where the Fijians mainly lived.
