The Honourable
Charan Jeath Singh
MP
Charan Jeath Singh in 2014
Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs
Assumed office
24 December 2022
Prime MinisterSitiveni Rabuka
Minister for Sugar
Assumed office
24 December 2022
Member of the Fijian Parliament
for PA List
Assumed office
14 December 2022
Member of the Fijian Parliament
for Macuata West Indian Communal Constituency
In office
1994–1999
Personal details
Born1961 or 1962 (age 61–62)[1]
Political partyNational Federation Party
People's Alliance

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.[2]

Early life

Singh is from Labasa and was educated at All Saints School and Labasa College before training as a pilot at Ardmore Flying School in New Zealand.[3] He worked as a pilot for Air Pacific and Air Fiji from 1982 to 1987, when he went into business.[3]

Political career

Singh was elected the Mayor of Labasa representing the Ratepayers' Association in 1992[4] but in the municipal elections of 2005 his Association lost in a landslide result to the Fiji Labour Party (FLP), winning only two seats.

In the 1994 general election, he won the Macuata West Indian Communal Constituency for the National Federation Party (NFP).[5] In the 1999 general election he contested the Labasa Indian Communal Constituency for the UNLP but managed to get only 10% of the votes cast. Following the death of the sitting member, he contested the Labasa Rural Indian Communal Constituency in December 2003 for the National Federation Party (NFP).[6] During the election campaign Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry accused Singh of supporting the 2000 Fijian coup d'état.[7] Singh sued for defamation,[8] beginning a long-running suit. The case was eventually settled in January 2012 with a declaration that Singh did not support the coup in any way.[9]

In the 2006 general election, he contested the Vanua Levu West Indian Communal Constituency, Fiji) for the National Alliance Party (NAPF) and again lost with only 14% of the votes cast.[10]

Following the 2006 Fijian coup d'état he criticised the military regime's detention of journalists,[11] and was arrested by the regime for criticising Mahendra Chaudhry, who at the time was collaborating as interim finance minister.[12][13] He later formed the Fiji People’s Party in the expectation of contesting eventual elections.[14] In 2013 he supported the regime's Political parties Decree, which effectively banned small parties,[15][16] and called for the mandatory death penalty for treason to deter future coups.[17] He supported the regime's 2013 constitution.[18] He later applied to be a FijiFirst candidate for the 2014 election but was rejected.[19]

He contested the 2018 election as an NFP candidate,[1][20] but was unsuccessful.

In March 2022 he resigned from the NFP and joined the People's Alliance.[21] He later said that he wanted to show that the PA was not a racist party but a multiracial team.[22]

He contested the 2022 election as a PA candidate[23] and was elected[24] with 5616 votes.[25] On 24 December 2022 he was appointed Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs in the coalition government of Sitiveni Rabuka.[26] He was also appointed Minister for Sugar. One of his first actions as a Minister was to invite Mahendra Chaudhry to chair the board of the Fiji Sugar Corporation.[27]

References

  1. 1 2 Shratika Naidu (6 October 2018). "Singh, NFP focus on helping people". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  2. ↑ "CJS Group at a Glance". CJS Group. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 Shratika Naidu (4 November 2022). "Businessman And NFP Stalwart Switches Political Allegiance". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  4. ↑ Report of the Auditor General of the Republic of the Fiji Islands Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "Fiji Times '94 General Election Scoreboard". Fiji Times. 28 February 1994.
  6. ↑ "Fiji's Labour Party wins by- election in Labasa". RNZ. 8 December 2003. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  7. ↑ "Labasa mayor takes out ad in Fiji paper over Labour allegations". RNZ. 14 October 2003. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Labasa mayor sues Fiji Labour Party and its leader over election campaign leaflet". RNZ. 3 December 2003. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  9. ↑ "Charan Jeath wins coup declaration". Fiji Sun. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  10. ↑ Stewart Firth (2007). From Election to Coup in Fiji: The 2006 Campaign and Its Aftermath. Canberra: ANU Press. p. 467.
  11. ↑ "Fiji businessman critical of police action against journalist". RNZ. 11 August 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "Police arrest businessman". Fiji Sun. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "I was treated well by police: Businessman". Fiji Sun. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  14. ↑ "Ex-MP forms new party". Fiji Sun. 24 June 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "Small Fiji party hails regime's party decree". RNZ. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  16. ↑ Maikeli Seru (20 January 2013). "Singh: Politicians have it wrong". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  17. ↑ Joelene Tuimoala (6 October 2012). "Singh: Death penalty for future treason". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  18. ↑ "Constitution 'way forward'". Fiji Sun. 11 September 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  19. ↑ "NFP two 'applied for FijiFirst Tickets' First". Fiji Sun. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  20. ↑ Arvind Kumar (10 October 2018). "NFP names its final list of 51 candidates for next month's general election". Stuff. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  21. ↑ Shanil Singh (25 March 2022). "Charan Jeath Singh resigns from NFP". Fiji Village. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  22. ↑ Elenoa Turagaiviu (29 November 2022). "I left NFP on good terms: Charan Jeath Singh". FBC News. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  23. ↑ Jone Salusalu (11 November 2022). "7 Women And 48 Men For The Peoples Alliance". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  24. ↑ Singh, Indira (18 December 2022). "Top 55 confirmed". FBC. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  25. ↑ "Charan Jeath Singh (245)". Fijian Elections Office. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  26. ↑ Apenisa Waqairadovu (24 December 2022). "Siromi Turaga sworn in as new AG". FBC News. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  27. ↑ "Chaudhry Invited To Lead Board". Fiji Sun. 2 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
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