Tupou Draunidalo

Background

Draunidalo is the daughter of former Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Adi Kuini Speed, a Paramount Chief 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, which was deposed in the 2006 Fijian coup d'état. Her stepfather, Timoci Bavadra was briefly Prime Minister of Fiji in 1987, before being ousted in the 1987 military coup by Sitiveni Rabuka.

Draunidalo was educated at Draiba, Veiuto Primary, Suva Grammar, Canberra Girls' Grammar School, the University of the South Pacific and the Australian National University. She stood as a candidate for the Fijian Association Party (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, defeating Rajesh Gordon.

Opposition to 2006 coup

Draunidalo condemned the military coup that took place on 5 December 2006, and threatened a possible court challenge to the legitimacy of the interim Cabinet sworn in on 8–9 January 2007. [1]

On 30 January 2007 Draunidalo was arrested by soldiers along with Pacific Centre for Public Integrity Director Angie Heffernan 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 that Fijian lawyers had lost faith in the judiciary. The case was subsequently withdrawn, but the High Court criticised Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum for bringing it and awarded costs against him.

In 2012, Draunidalo represented former Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase in his corruption trial.

National Federation Party

In March 2014 Draunidalo was elected as president of the National Federation Party. She competed in the 2014 election, winning 2,966 votes and becoming one of eight women to enter parliament.

In June 2016, she made derogatory remarks against the Fijian Minister for Education, Mahendra Reddy after she claimed he called the opposition side "dumb natives" for which she was taken to the Privileges Committee who recommended that she was suspended from parliament for the remainder of the term of Parliament which ends in 2018.