Niko Nawaikula

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Niko Nawaikula is a Fijian politician, who was appointed to the House of Representatives on 22 June 2005. The Conservative Alliance (CAMV) candidate was declared elected unopposed, after the only other candidate, Ratu Osea Vakalalabure of the United Fiji Party (SDL) withdrew from the contest, thus averting the scheduled byelection. The CAMV had called on the SDL to withdraw its candidate on the basis of a coalition agreement between the two parties.

The byelection had been called for the Cakaudrove West Fijian Communal Constituency following the imprisonment of the incumbent, Ratu Vakalalabure (Ratu Osea's older brother), on charges related to his role in the Fiji coup of 2000.

Nawaikula qualified as a lawyer at the University of Tasmania in 1985, and has specialized in laws related to native land and indigenous people. He has called for harsher penalties for rapists.^{[citation needed]} A strong supporter of conservative family values, he says that parents should take their children's upbringing and education seriously.

Following the merger of Nawaikula's CAMV into the SDL in early 2006, he won reelection under the SDL banner in the poll held on 6-13 May, and was subsequently elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Nawaikula hails from Buca, Natewa, in Cakaudrove Province. He is married, with five children.