The Christian Democratic Alliance, better known locally by its Fijian name, ''Veitokani ni Lewenivanua Vakarisito'' (VLV), was a

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

that operated in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The party was founded in 1997 when a faction of the then-ruling

Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei The Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT), occasionally known in English as Fijian Political Party, was a party which dominated the politics of Fiji in the 1990s and was the mainstay of coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people ...

(SVT) broke away, but was not registered until February 1999. Rev. Ratu Josaia Rayawa was appointed President of the party, with Ratu Epeli Ganilau, son of former Fijian

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau and son-in-law of the then-current President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, as interim leader. Other prominent members of the party included Adi Koila Nailatikau (Mara's daughter and Ganilau's sister-in-law), Poseci Bune, Rev. Manasa Lasaro (a former Secretary-General of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, who had advocated banning all commercial and sporting activities on Sundays), and

Josefa Vosanibola Josefa Bole Vosanibola is a former Fijian politician and Cabinet Minister. He is the father of former Social Democratic Liberal Party MP Peceli Vosanibola. Vosanibola served as Minister for Home Affairs from 16 December 2004, when he was appoin ...

. In the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

of 1999, the VLV was widely seen as playing a spoiler role. Campaigning on a platform of strengthening anti-corruption laws, establishing programs to eradicate poverty, and reinforcing the family unit, it took 19 percent of the indigenous Fijian vote, mostly at the expense of the SVT, which lost the election. Ganilau himself failed to win a seat, however, and Bune replaced him as leader. The VLV joined the People's Coalition government of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Mahendra Chaudhry Mahendra Pal Chaudhry (; born 9 February 1942) is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party. Following a historic election in which he defeated the long-time former leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, the former trade union leader beca ...

, and Bune and Nailatikau were appointed to the Cabinet. The VLV splintered in the political realignment that followed the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

, which deposed the Chaudhry government. Many of its members, including Rayawa and Vosanibola, joined the new

Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua The United Fiji Party (, , SDL) was a list of political parties in Fiji, political party in Fiji. It was founded in 2001 by Prime Minister of Fiji, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase as a power base; it absorbed most of the Christian Democratic Alli ...

of interim Prime Minister

Laisenia Qarase Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Fiji, sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After Republic of Fiji Military Forces, the military quashed the 2 ...

, while others, including Bune, joined the

Fiji Labour Party The Fiji Labour Party (FLP; ),() 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. Timoc ...

of deposed Prime Minister Chaudhry. A rump of the party continued under the leadership of Taniela Tabu and fielded two candidates, unsuccessfully, in the

held to restore democracy in September 2001, but most members of this rump subsequently merged with members of the SVT and the New Labour Unity Party to form the Fiji Democratic Party under the leadership of the former SVT leader

Filipe Bole Filipe Nagera Bole Order of the British Empire, CBE, Order of Fiji, CF (23 August 1936 – 19 June 2019) was a Fijian politician who hailed from the village of Mualevu on the island of Vanua Balavu in the Lau Islands, Lau Group. He had a reputatio ...

. In 2005, this party merged into the new

National Alliance Party of Fiji The National Alliance Party of Fiji (NAPF) was a Fijian political party. It was formally registered on 18 January 2005 by Ratu Epeli Ganilau, as the claimed successor to the defunct Alliance Party, which ruled Fiji from 1967 to 1987 under th ...

, founded by the former VLV leader, Ratu Epeli Ganilau.

References

Christian democratic parties in Oceania Defunct political parties in Fiji Indigenous political parties in Oceania Political parties established in 1997 Political parties disestablished in 2001 {{Fiji-party-stub