Epeli Ganilau - First Foray Into Politics

First Foray Into Politics

In 1998 he helped to found the Christian Democratic Alliance, which won three seats in the House of Representatives in the 1999 election, although he personally was not elected. He chose not to run in the election held to restore democracy in 2001. He suffered a personal defeat in 2001, however, when the Supreme Court ruled in support of the claims of his kinsman, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, to the title of Tui Cakau, or Paramount Chief of the Tovata Confederacy. As the newly appointed Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs, however, he continued to have an influential political role.