An ousted Nauru MP suspects dirty tricks

Transcript

A former Nauru president who lost his seat in the weekend's election claims manipulation by the government ensured key opposition MPs lost out.

Sprent Dabwido was one of five opposition MPs in the previous government who had been suspended for two years.

Four stood again and just one, Kieren Keke, was re-elected.

Mr Dabwido told Don Wiseman they faced a number of restrictions which limited their ability to campaign.

SPRENT DAWIDO: I think there's an explanation to this. We've been telling the observers and the Pacific Islands Forum for the last three months that the observers team should really come here, three months earlier to observe the rules applied to this election. I mean laws that have been amended to cater for this election. For example laws about transferring voters from one constituency to another. And also the government law that people you know cannot criticise the government. And once the government is criticised we had 40 people blacklisted, they lose their jobs
and they can't get a job anywhere else. We believe in the last month there has been an amazing amount of bribery going on. So all this adds to the results that we see, that there is an outstanding amazing difference between government supporting candidates, and the oppositions supporting candidates.

DON WISEMAN: There were three observer teams, two of them have made statements saying the elections were free and fair.

SD: Yes I believe if you read exactly what the observers team said they support us more than what the government was hoping for them to say. I'll give you the real statement from the observer team, nothing happened on polling day it was well run, it was run perfectly. I think that is the biggest statement that can support our fears. All the bribery and all the work done by the government was done before polling day.

DW: But all the government is going to say to you, is that this is sour grapes on your part, you've lost and you've lost quite convincingly.

SD: I appreciate that is what they are saying. Time will tell, we'll test this theory. So you know the government can beat their chest, I congratulate them on the interference of this election result. If this government can give themselves the keys to the treasury for them to use as they please, what's stopping them from manipulating  the election.

RNZ International's efforts to get comment from the Nauru government were unsuccessful.