Fiji Democratic Party

The Fiji Democratic Party was a List of [political parties in Fiji|political party] in Fiji. It was active between June 2002 and April 2005.
It was founded by Filipe Bole, a former Cabinet Minister, as a merger of the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei, the Fijian Association Party, the Christian [Democratic Alliance (Fiji)|Christian Democratic Alliance], and the New [Labour Unity Party]. All but the last of these had been eliminated from Parliament in the 2001 [Fijian general election|parliamentary election] of 2001. The party aimed to secure a niche in the middle ground of Fijian politics, offering a multiracial alternative to the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua/Conservative Alliance coalition of Prime [Minister of Fiji|Prime Minister] Laisenia Qarase on the one hand, and the Fiji Labour Party of former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry on the other. Among its policies was a proposal to abolish race-based voting and to introduce universal suffrage for all electorates.
In April 2005, the FDP announced its own dissolution and merger with the newly formed National [Alliance Party of Fiji], founded by Ratu Epeli Ganilau, a chief whose father and father-in-law both served as President of Fiji. Filipe Bole was appointed a spokesman for the new party.