Fiji's Head of State is the President. He is elected by Parliament of Fiji after nomination by the Prime Minister or the Leader of the Opposition, for a three-year term. Although his role is largely an honorary one, modelled after that of the British Monarchy, the President has certain "reserve powers" that may be used in the event of a national crisis. In practice, attempts by the President to assert the reserve powers have proved problematic. In 2000, in the midst of a civilian coup d'État against the elected government, President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara announced on 27 May that he was assuming executive authority, but was evidently forced to resign two days later by the military Commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama.
Actual executive power is in the hands of the cabinet, presided over by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is elected by Parliament, under the 2013 Constitution of Fiji.
Under the former constitution, which was abrogated at the behest of the Military-backed interim government in 2009, the Prime Minister was formally appointed by the President, but had to be acceptable to a majority of the House of Representatives. In practice, this usually reduced the President's role to little more than a formality, with the position automatically going to the leader of the political party or coalition that controlled a majority of seats.
There were times, however, when there was no clear majority in the House of Representatives. The parliamentary election of 1992 was inconclusive, and the position of the largest party, the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei, was further undermined by subsequent defections. On such occasions, the President had to take on the role of an arbitrator. After consulting with all the parliamentary factions, he would appoint as Prime Minister the person he judged to be the most acceptable to the majority in the House of Representatives. If no such person could be found, the President was required to order a new election.
Another situation requiring Presidential intervention arose following the 1999 election. The People's Coalition won a landslide victory; with the largest party in the coalition, the Fiji Labour Party, winning a majority in its own right. Some of the smaller parties in the coalition expressed unease at the prospect of Mahendra Chaudhry, the Labour Party leader and an Indo-Fijian, becoming Prime Minister, saying that he would be unacceptable to indigenous Fijian voters that they represented. President Mara, however, persuaded them to accept Chaudhry as Prime Minister.
The cabinet, consisting of around ten to twenty five Ministers, is formally appointed by the President on the nomination of the Prime Minister.
According to the former 1997 constitution, the cabinet was supposed to reflect the political composition of the House of Representatives, with every party holding more than 8 seats in the House entitled to proportionate representation in the cabinet. In practice, this rule was never strictly implemented. In 1999, Chaudhry refused to give Ministerial posts to the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT), saying that its demands were unacceptable. From 2001 to 2004, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, whose coalition dominated by his Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua had narrowly won the 2001 election, refused to include the Fiji Labour Party in his cabinet, and avoided implementing several subsequent Supreme Court verdicts ordering him to do so by appealing each successive verdict, until the Labour Party announced late in 2004 that it was no longer interested in joining the cabinet. Under the 2013 Constitution, the Cabinet is no longer required to reflect the political composition of Parliament.
The FijiFirst party, led by Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, won outright majority in the country’s 51-seat parliament both in 2014 election and narrowly in 2018 election.[2] In October 2021, Tui Macuata Ratu Wiliame Katonivere was elected the new President of Fiji by the parliament.[3]
Under the 2013 Constitution, Fiji's Parliament is unicameral. Its 50 members are elected for four-year terms by Party-list proportional representation, with the entire country voting as a single constituency. To win election to Parliament, a political party (or an independent candidate) must win five percent of the total valid vote nationwide. Fiji's system differs from that of many other countries using the party-list system, however, in that voters do not vote for a party, as such, but for an individual candidate. Each voter is allowed to vote for only one candidate. The votes for all candidates on a party ticket are pooled, their aggregate as a percentage of the total valid vote (minus votes cast for parties falling short of the five-percent threshold) determining the number of seats in Parliament to which their party is entitled. The eligible number of candidates from a political party are elected in the order of the number of votes they received individually. In the 2014 elections, for example, the FijiFirst Party polled 59.2 percent of the valid vote. When votes for small parties polling less than the five-percent threshold were excluded, this entitled FijiFirst to 32 of the 50 seats. These were filled by the 32 FijiFirst candidates who polled the highest number of votes as individuals.
Before the adoption of the 2013 Constitution, Fiji's Parliament consisted of two houses. The more powerful of the two chambers, the House of Representatives, had 71 members, elected for five-year terms. 25 were elected by universal suffrage. The remaining 46 were reserved for Fiji's ethnic communities and were elected from communal electoral rolls: 23 Fijians, 19 Indo-Fijians, 1 Rotuman, and 3 "general electors" (Europeans, Chinese, and other minorities). The House chose a Speaker, who was not allowed to be a present member of the House.
The "upper chamber", the Senate, was primarily a house of review: it could not initiate legislation, but could amend or reject it. The 32 senators were formally appointed by the President on the nomination of the Great Council of Chiefs (14), the Prime Minister (9), the Leader of the Opposition (8), and the Council of Rotuma (1). Senators as well as Representatives could serve as cabinet Ministers.
When the Parliament was bicameral, the attorney-general, Fiji's top legal official who sits in the cabinet, was the only member of Parliament permitted to attend sessions of both chambers. The attorney-general had voting rights only in the chamber they were elected or appointed to and authorised to attend and participate in debates in the other chamber.
Judicial branch
Fiji maintains an independent judiciary, with judicial power vested in three courts (the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court) established by the Constitution, which also makes provision for other courts to be set up by Parliament; Magistrates' Courts have accordingly been set up. The High Court and the Supreme Court are both presided over by the Chief Justice (currently Kamal Kumar); the Chief Justice is barred, however, from membership of the Court of Appeal, which comprises three judges. The Appeal Court, which did not exist prior to the 1997 Constitution, has the power "to hear and determine appeals" from judgements of the High Court; decisions of this court may be further appealed to the Supreme Court, whose decision is final. The judiciary managed to maintain its independence from political control in the aftermath of the coups of 1987. Following the 2000 coup, however, its integrity was compromised, in the eye of many, when three judges (including Daniel Fatiaki, who later became Chief Justice) advised then-President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to abrogate the constitution. Mara refused and resigned; a military administration replaced him. Then Chief Justice recognised the military government, triggering widespread disappointment to those who had seen the judiciary as a model of independence. On 15 November 2000, however, the High Court forced the reinstatement of the 1997 Constitution, which had been abrogated in June following the forced resignation of President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara on 29 May.
Following the military coup of 2006, the Military dismissed Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki and appointed the more pliable Anthony Gates in his place. Following a Court of Appeal decision in 2009 that the Military-backed interim government was illegal, President RatuJosefa Iloilo abrogated the constitution, dismissed all judges, and reappointed the interim government. Some judges were subsequently reappointed and some were not.
There are four administrative divisions (Central, Eastern, Northern and Western), each under the charge of a commissioner appointed by the central government. The divisions are further subdivided into fourteen provinces, each of which has a provincial council. In addition, the island of Rotuma has the status of a dependency, and enjoys a degree of internal autonomy, with its own island council.
Ethnic Fijians have their own administration in which councils preside over a hierarchy of provinces, districts, and villages. The councils deal with all matters affecting ethnic Fijians. The 55‑member Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga in Fijian) included 3 representatives from each of Fiji's 14 provinces and 1 dependency, 3 ex-officio members (the President, Vice-President, and Prime Minister), and 6 government appointees; former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka was a life-member. The Great Council of Chiefs advised the government, and also functioned as an electoral college to appoint the President of the Republic, as well as 14 of the 32 Senators. This prerogative of the Council was delegated to the 14 provincial councils, each choosing one senator. It was a constitutional oddity that even though Fiji became a Republic in 1987, Queen Elizabeth II was by the Great Council of Chiefs as the Tui Viti, the Paramount Chief, until 2012, when the council was disestablished.
Suva, Lautoka, and nine other towns have municipal governments, with city or town councils, each chaired by a mayor. These are responsible for the local affairs of all citizens, and are elected by universal suffrage.
Contentious issues
Most of Fiji's political controversies are related to the ethnic fault line that characterises Fijian politics. Fiji's former constitution imposed disabilities on a group that constitutes a large part of the population on the pretended basis of race.[5][6] It has caused an exodus of the Indians, who until the late 1980s formed a slight majority in Fiji.[7]
Land tenure
One of the main issues that has fuelled the contention over the years is land tenure. Indigenous Fijian communities very closely identify themselves with their land. In 1909 near the peak of the inflow of indentured Indian labourers, the land ownership pattern was frozen and further sales prohibited. Today over 80% of the land is held by indigenous Fijians, under the collective ownership of the traditional Fijian clans. Indo-Fijians produce over 90% of the sugar crop but must lease the land they work from its ethnic Fijian owners instead of being able to buy it outright. The leases have been generally for 10 years, although they are usually renewed for two 10‑year extensions. Many Indo-Fijians argue that these terms do not provide them with adequate security and have pressed for renewable 30‑year leases, while many ethnic Fijians fear that an Indo-Fijian government would erode their control over the land.
The Indo-Fijian parties' major voting bloc is made up of sugarcane farmers. The farmers' main tool of influence has been their ability to galvanise widespread boycotts of the sugar industry, thereby crippling the economy.
The Consumer Council of Fiji is a statutory organisation that looks after consumer interest in Fiji. The Consumer Council of Fiji is a statutory body established under the Consumer Council of Fiji Act 1976 (Cap 235[clarification needed]). The council is governed by a board of directors appointed by the Minister of trade & industry. The board headed by a chairman appoints the chief executive officer, who runs the operations of the organisation.
The Council's head office is located on 4 Carnavon Street, in the Fijian capital of Suva. It has two other offices, one located in Lautoka (Fiji's second city) that serves the western division and the other in Labasa that serves the northern division. The Council has four core divisions: Campaigns, Information and Media Division; Alternative Dispute Resolution and Consumer Advisory Division; Research and Policy Analysis; and Administration, Human Resource & Project Management Division.
Notes
↑ The Economist Intelligence Unit (8 January 2019). "Democracy Index 2018: Me Too?". The Economist Intelligence Unit. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, was a Fijian politician, who served as Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992. He subsequently served as President from 1993 to 2000.
The president of Fiji is the head of state of the Republic of Fiji. The president is appointed by the Parliament for a three-year term under the terms of the 2013 Constitution. Although not entirely a figurehead, the role of president in the government is largely ceremonial, but there are important reserve powers that may be exercised in the event of a crisis. In addition, the president is the commander-in-chief of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces.
The prime minister of Fiji is the head of government of the Republic of Fiji. The prime minister is appointed under the terms of the 2013 Constitution. The prime minister is the head of the Cabinet and appoints and dismisses ministers.
The Great Council of Chiefs is a Fijian constitutional body. It previously existed from 1876 to March 2012 and was re-established in May 2023.
The 1997 Constitution of Fiji was the supreme law of Fiji from its adoption in 1997 until 2009 when President Josefa Iloilo purported to abrogate it. It was also suspended for a period following the 2000 coup d'état led by George Speight.
Chapter 7: Executive Government.Chapter 7 of the 1997 Constitution is titled Executive Government. There are five Parts, further subdivided into thirty sections, which set out the organization, functions, and responsibilities of the executive branch of government. Modeled on the Westminster system, Fiji's constitution does not separate the Executive and Legislative branches of government as strictly as do many democracies, but despite considerable overlap, the branches of government are nevertheless constitutionally distinct.
Brigadier-General Ratu Epeli Ganilau, MC, MSD, was a Fijian military officer and politician. His career previously encompassed such roles as Commander of the Fiji Military Forces and Chairman of the Bose Levu Vakaturaga. On 15 January 2007 he was sworn in as Minister for Fijian Affairs in the interim Cabinet formed in the wake of the 2006 Fijian coup d'état which deposed the Qarase government on 5 December 2006.
Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka is a Fijian politician, former soldier and former sportsman who has served as Prime Minister of Fiji since 24 December 2022. He was the instigator of two military coups in 1987. He was democratically elected as Prime Minister of Fiji, serving from 1992 to 1999, and again in 2022, leading a three-party coalition. He also served as Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs from 1999 to 2001, and later as Chairman of the Cakaudrove Provincial Council from 2001 to 2008.
General elections were held in Fiji between 8 and 15 May 1999. They were the first election held under the revised Constitution of 1997, which instituted a new electoral system and resulted in Mahendra Chaudhry taking office as Fiji's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister, following a landslide victory for the Fiji Labour Party. It was also a wipeout loss for the incumbent Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT) government of Sitiveni Rabuka, which lost all but eight seats and won less seats than the Fijian Association Party (FAP).
The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party. Though it claims to represent all Fiji Islanders, it is supported, in practice, almost exclusively by Indo-Fijians whose ancestors had come to Fiji between 1879 and 1916, mostly as indentured labourers. However, in the 2018 general election, the party recorded a considerable change in its support base due to the inclusion of more indigenous Fijian candidates.
The Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT), occasionally known in English as Fijian Political Party, was a party which dominated the politics of Fiji in the 1990s and was the mainstay of coalition governments from 1992 to 1999.
The Fiji coup d'état of 2000 was a civilian coup d'état by hardline i-Taukei nationalists against the elected government of an Indo-Fijian Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry on 19 May 2000. This was followed by an attempt on 27 May by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority, and then by a military coup on 29 May by Republic of Fiji Military Forces Commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama. The coups resulted in the removal of the elected government and its replacement by an interim regime headed by Josefa Iloilo. In March 2001 the Court of Appeal of Fiji ruled that the coups and interim regime were illegal. An elected government was finally restored by the 2001 Fijian general election.
Since attaining independence from the United Kingdom on 10 October 1970, Fijian history has been marked by exponential economic growth up to 1987, followed by relative stagnation, caused to a large extent by political instability following two military coups in 1987 and a civilian putsch in 2000. This was followed by another military coup in 2006. Rivalry between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians, rather than ideological differences, have been the most visible cleavage of Fijian politics. Later in 2020, Fiji was hit by the global COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the economy and the daily lives of the people.
The Reconciliation and Unity Commission was a proposed government body to be set up if the Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, which was introduced into the Fijian Parliament on 4 May 2005 was passed. The legislation proposed to empower the commission to grant amnesty to perpetrators of the Fiji coup of 2000, and compensation to victims of it from 19 May 2000 through 15 March 2001. The Fijian President would retain a veto over the granting of amnesty.
Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda, was a Fijian politician who served as the 3rd President of Fiji from 2000 until 2009, excluding a brief period from 5 December 2006 to 4 January 2007. He held the traditional title of Tui Vuda, the paramount chief of the Vuda district in Ba Province on Fiji's northwest coast. Like many Fijian people, he rarely used his surname and was known simply as Josefa Iloilo. He announced on 28 July 2009 that he would be leaving office on 30 July. At the age of 88, he was the world's oldest head of state.
The Constitution of Fiji is the supreme law of Fiji. There have been four Constitutions since the first was adopted in 1970. The first constitution, adopted in 1970 upon independence, was abrogated following two military coups in 1987. A second constitution, the Constitution of the Sovereign Democratic Republic of Fiji, was adopted in 1990. Its discriminatory provisions, which reserved the office of Prime Minister and a built-in majority in the House of Representatives for indigenous Fijians proved very unpopular with the Indo-Fijian community, which comprised almost half the country's population, and in the mid 1990s the government agreed that it should be rewritten. The third constitution, The Constitution of the Republic of the Fiji Islands dates from 1997. The current constitution was implemented in 2013.
Fiji's fourth constitution, the 2013 Constitution of Fiji, was signed into law by President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau on 6 September 2013, coming into effect immediately. It is the first to eliminate race-based electoral rolls, race-based seat quotas, district-based representation, the unelected upper chamber, and the role of the hereditary Council of Chiefs. It vests sole legislative authority in a single-chamber, 50-seat, at-large Parliament, to be first convened following general elections in 2014. It is also the first ever to grant the right to multiple citizenship, and lowers the voting age to 18.
Republic of Fiji Islands v Prasad is a 2001 landmark decision of the Court of Appeal of Fiji which upheld the 1997 Constitution of Fiji in the aftermath of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état. The court agreed with the previous High Court of Fiji ruling that the constitution had not been overturned and that Parliament had not been dissolved, but only prorogued. It also found that the office of President of Fiji had only become vacant in December 2000 after Kamisese Mara resigned following the High Court ruling.
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