Roko Tupou Takaiwai Senirewa Draunidalo is a Fijian lawyer and politician. She is a former member of the

Parliament of Fiji The Parliament of the Republic of Fiji is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Fiji. It consists of 55 members elected every 4 years using open list proportional representation in one multi-member nationwide constituency. History ...

and from 2018 to 2022 was the president of the HOPE party.

Background

Draunidalo is the daughter of former Fiji Deputy Prime Minister

Adi Adi or ADI may refer to: Names and titles * Adi (mythology), an Asura in Hindu faith who appears in the Matsya Purāṇa * Adi (name), a given name in Hebrew and a nickname in other languages * Adi (title), a Fijian title used by females of chi ...

Kuini Speed Adi Kuini Teimumu Vuikaba Speed (23 December 1949 – 31 December 2004) was a Fijian chief and politician, who served as Deputy Prime Minister in 1999 and 2000. She was the head girl at Adi Cakobau School in 1968, and went on to graduate from ...

, a

Paramount Chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a chief-based system. This term is used occasionally in anthropological and ar ...

from Nadroga-Navosa, who was deposed in the 2000 Fijian coup d'état, and her first husband, Savenaca Draunidalo, who served in the cabinet of

Laisenia Qarase Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase ...

, which was deposed in the

2006 Fijian coup d'état The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 was a coup d'état carried out by Commodore Frank Bainimarama, Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, against the government of President Josefa Iloilo. Iloilo was removed as president, bu ...

. Her stepfather,

Timoci Bavadra Timoci Uluivuda Bavadra (22 September 1934 – 3 November 1989) was a Fijian medical doctor who founded the Fiji Labour Party and served as the Prime Minister of Fiji for one month in 1987. He was born in Viseisei, Viti Levu, and was medical do ...

was briefly

Prime Minister of Fiji The prime minister of Fiji is the head of government of the Republic of Fiji. The prime minister is appointed under the terms of the 2013 Constitution of Fiji. The prime minister is the head of the Cabinet and appoints and dismisses ministers ...

in 1987, before being ousted in the 1987 military coup by

Sitiveni Rabuka Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, (; born 13 September 1948) is a Fijian politician who has served as Prime Minister of Fiji since 24 December 2022. He was the instigator of two military coups in 1987. He was democratically elected as Prime Minist ...

. Draunidalo was educated at Draiba, Veiuto Primary, Suva Grammar,

Canberra Girls' Grammar School , motto_translation = To the young, anything is possible , established = 1926 , type = Independent school, Independent, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding , gender = Co-educ ...

, the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the go ...

and the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

. She stood as a candidate for the

Fijian Association Party The Fijian Association Party (FAP) is a former political party in Fiji. It played a significant role in Fijian politics throughout the 1990s, but lost all of its seats in the House of Representatives in the parliamentary election of 2001. The ...

(FAP) in the 2001 election, contesting the Laucala Open Constituency, but polled only 248 votes out of more than 11,500 votes cast. On 9 September 2006, she was elected Vice-President of the

Fiji Law Society The Fiji Law Society is the official body that registers and regulates the activity of all lawyers in Fiji. Historically, the President of the Fiji Law Society was a member ''ex officio'' of the Judicial Service Commission. The Fiji Law Society ...

, defeating

Rajesh Gordon Rajesh is a given name of Indian and Nepali origin. Given name * Rajesh (actor), South Indian actor * Rajesh (Kannada actor), Kannada actor * Rajesh Bishnoi, Indian cricketer * Rajesh Chauhan, Indian cricketer * Rajesh Gangwar, Indian social ...

Opposition to 2006 coup

Draunidalo condemned the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

that took place on 5 December 2006, and threatened a possible court challenge to the legitimacy of the interim

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

sworn in on 8–9 January 2007. On 30 January 2007 Draunidalo was arrested by soldiers along with Pacific Centre for Public Integrity Director

Angie Heffernan Angenette (Angie) Heffernan is a Fijian human rights and democracy activist and executive director of the Pacific Centre for Public Integrity (PCPI). Prior to PCPI she was a prominent regional environmental political campaigner for Greenpeace Aus ...

and questioned on charges of sedition. In June 2007 she was prevented from leaving Fiji to attend an international conference after being mistakenly included on an immigration blacklist. In July 2007 she was charged with contempt of court after stating in an interview with

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

that Fijian lawyers had lost faith in the judiciary. The case was subsequently withdrawn, but the High Court criticised Attorney-General

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum (born 24 September 1965) is an Indo-Fijian politician and a cabinet minister. He is the Fijian attorney general and the Minister for Economy, Civil Service and Communications, and also serves the minister responsible for ...

for bringing it and awarded costs against him. Draunidalo represented lawyers including the president of the Fiji Law Society Mr. Dorsami Naidu in various litigation after the 2006 coup, she also represented an NGO in an application at the eleventh hour to join the constitutional litigation going to the validity of the 1997 constitution between the elected prime minister and the usurping military commander. The substantive matter upheld the validity of the constitution and the arguments of Draunidalo's NGO client was largely adopted by the court. In 2012, Draunidalo represented former Fijian Prime Minister

in his corruption trial.

National Federation Party

In March 2014 Draunidalo was elected as president of the

National Federation Party 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 claimed to represent all Fiji Islanders, it was supported, in p ...

. She competed in the 2014 election, winning 2,966 votes and becoming one of eight women to enter parliament. In June 2016, she made remarks against the Fijian Minister for Education,

Mahendra Reddy Dr. Mahendra Reddy is a Fijian politician and former Member of the Parliament of Fiji. He served as the Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment from 2017 to 2022. Reddy was an award-winning scholarship student at the University of th ...

asking him if he thought the opposition side were "dumb natives". She was taken to the government controlled Privileges Committee who recommended that she be suspended from parliament for the remainder of the term. In January 2017 she resigned from the NFP and from parliament to avoid working with Sitiveni Rabuka who had resumed leadership of the main opposition party. Her seat was taken by Parmod Chand, and she was succeeded in the presidency by

Pio Tikoduadua Lt Col Pio Tikoduadua (born 12 September 1966) is a Fijian politician, cabinet Minister and Member of the Parliament of Fiji. He is the current President of the National Federation Party. Early life and military career Tikoduadua was born in Nama ...

HOPE Party

In 2018 Draunidalo formed the HOPE Party, becoming its leader. The party was registered in July 2018, with Draunidalo leading it into the

2018 elections The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2018. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. Africa *2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election 23 February 2018 * 2018 Sierra Leonean general ele ...

. The party won no seats, and was deregistered and effectively banned by the Fijian government in February 2022. In June 2022 Draunidalo applied to become a candidate for

FijiFirst FijiFirst ( fj, iMatai ni Viti) is a liberal political party in Fiji. The party was formed in March 2014 by then Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama. Formation The party was launched on 31 March 2014 with Bainimarama beginning a nationwide tour o ...

. In January 2023 she was nominated to the Constitutional Offices Commission by opposition leader Frank Bainimarama as a replacement for

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Draunidalo, Tupou Year of birth missing (living people) Living people National Federation Party politicians I-Taukei Fijian members of the Parliament of Fiji University of the South Pacific alumni Australian National University alumni Fijian Association Party politicians I-Taukei Fijian people Politicians from Moala Island Politicians from Korolevu 21st-century Fijian women politicians 20th-century Fijian lawyers 21st-century Fijian lawyers Fijian women lawyers 20th-century Fijian politicians 20th-century Fijian women politicians 21st-century Fijian politicians 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers People educated at Suva Grammar School