Laisenia Qarase

Political parties and the media in Fiji are urging nationalist Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase to accept a court ruling allowing the opposition Labor Party to join the troubled nation's government.

The future of Mr. Qarase's indigenous government was thrown into doubt on Friday when the Court of Appeal ruled he acted unconstitutionally in not including the Labor Party in the cabinet after last September's elections.

Labor, led by former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, took 39 percent of the country's parliamentary seats. Under Fiji's constitution, any party that wins 10 percent of more of the seats must be invited to help form a cabinet.

Mr. Qarase says he will study the ruling and may appeal.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

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