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All 36 seats in the Legislative Council 18 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||
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General elections were held in Fiji between 26 September and 8 October 1966, [1] the last before independence in 1970 and the first held under universal suffrage. [2] The result was a victory for the Alliance Party, which won 23 of the 34 elected seats. Its leader Kamisese Mara became the country's first Chief Minister the following year.
A constitutional conference was held in London in 1965, which resulted in the Legislative Council being reorganised to consist of 36 seats; 14 for Fijians and other Pacific Islanders (two of which were nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs), 12 for Indo-Fijians and 10 for all other ethnic groups. [2] The total number of registered voters was 156,683; 75,768 Indo-Fijians, 74,575 Fijians and 6,340 General electors. [1]
Members of the Legislative Council were elected from two types of constituencies; communal and cross-voting, with voters being able to cast four votes each. Each voter cast a single vote in one of the 25 communal constituencies, in which they could only vote for a candidate of their own ethnicity. In the three three-seat cross-voting constituencies, voters voted for a candidate from each of the three ethnic groups. [2]
For the first time, the elections were a largely partisan event, dominated by the Fijian Alliance Party and the Indo-Fijian Federation Party. [2] A total of 79 candidates contested the elections, three of which were women. [3]
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance Party | 214,872 | 51.94 | 23 | |
| Federation Party | 113,310 | 27.39 | 9 | |
| National Democratic Party | 6,874 | 1.66 | 0 | |
| Independents | 78,644 | 19.01 | 2 | |
| Nominated members | 2 | |||
| Total | 413,700 | 100.00 | 36 | |
| Valid votes | 413,700 | 93.16 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 30,372 | 6.84 | ||
| Total votes | 444,072 | 100.00 | ||
| Source: Fiji Elections | ||||
| Seat | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fijian seats | |||||
| Cakaudrove | Jone Naisara | Alliance Party | 4,908 | Elected | |
| Anare M. Tuidraki | Independent | 949 | |||
| Invalid votes | 314 | – | |||
| Lau–Rotuma | Jonati Mavoa | Alliance Party | Unopposed | Elected | |
| Lomaiviti/Kadavu | Solomone Momoivalu | Alliance Party | Unopposed | Elected | |
| Macuata/Bua | Emosi Vuakatagane | Alliance Party | 2,885 | Elected | |
| Militoni Vereaqali Leweniqila | Independent | 1,774 | |||
| Invalid votes | 207 | – | |||
| North West Viti Levu | Sakeasi Waqanivavalagi | Alliance Party | 6,354 | Elected | |
| Isaia Vakabua | Independent | 1,670 | |||
| Jone Ravunakana | Independent | 1,268 | |||
| Invalid votes | 191 | – | |||
| Rewa–Suva | Alipate Sikivou | Alliance Party | 4,427 | Elected | |
| Jone Cure Mataitini | Independent | 1,779 | |||
| Noa Niubalavu Nawalowalo | Independent | 1,268 | |||
| Invalid votes | 158 | – | |||
| South Central Viti Levu | David Toganivalu | Alliance Party | 4,368 | Elected | |
| Penaia Lalabalavu Latianara | Independent | 981 | |||
| Meli Radelaiburelevu Loki | Independent | 873 | |||
| Ifereimi Nakaiwalu | Independent | 205 | |||
| Invalid votes | 182 | – | |||
| South West Viti Levu | Peniame Naqasima | Alliance Party | 5,600 | Elected | |
| Apisai Tora | National Democratic Party | 2,632 | |||
| Invalid votes | 133 | – | |||
| Tailevu | William Brown Toganivalu | Alliance Party | 3,347 | Elected | |
| Livai Volavola | Independent | 1,530 | |||
| Meli Saronicava Baleilakeba | Independent | 383 | |||
| Invalid votes | 187 | – | |||
| Council of Chiefs nominees | George Cakobau | Elected | |||
| Losalini Raravuya Dovi | Elected | ||||
| General seats | |||||
| Eastern and Central | Wesley Barrett | Alliance Party | 816 | Elected | |
| Robert Spowart | Independent | 132 | |||
| Invalid votes | 11 | – | |||
| Northern | Harold Brockett Gibson | Independent | 392 | Elected | |
| Fred Archibald | Independent | 292 | Unseated | ||
| Hugh Thaggard | Independent | 151 | |||
| Lawrence Simpson | Independent | 73 | |||
| Invalid votes | 33 | – | |||
| Suva | John Falvey | Alliance Party | 1,544 | Re-elected | |
| Charles Stinson | Independent | 1,384 | Elected | ||
| William Yee | Alliance Party | 1,381 | Elected | ||
| Margaret Bain | Alliance Party | 1,288 | |||
| Invalid votes | 4 | – | |||
| West Viti Levu | Ronald Kermode | Alliance Party | Unopposed | Re-elected | |
| Robin Yarrow | Alliance Party | Unopposed | Elected | ||
| Indo-Fijian seats | |||||
| North-East Vanua Levu | James Madhavan | Federation Party | 5,049 | 66.9 | Re-elected |
| Gaya Prasad | Independent | 2,494 | 33.1 | ||
| Invalid votes | 320 | – | |||
| North-East Viti Levu | C. A. Shah | Federation Party | 3,799 | 58.2 | Re-elected |
| Vishnu Deo | Alliance Party | 1,955 | 30.0 | ||
| V. P. Bajpai | Independent | 770 | 11.8 | ||
| Invalid votes | 100 | – | |||
| North Eastern | Ram Jati Singh | Federation Party | 2,328 | 65.3 | Elected |
| Harish Chandra Kohli | Independent | 1,238 | 34.7 | ||
| Invalid votes | 206 | – | |||
| North-West Viti Levu | R. D. Patel | Federation Party | 4,704 | Elected | |
| James Shankar Singh | Alliance Party | 4,421 | |||
| Invalid votes | 104 | – | |||
| South-Central Viti Levu | M. T. Khan | Federation Party | 4,380 | Elected | |
| Ramanlal I. Kapadia | Independent | 1,650 | |||
| B.D. Moti | Independent | 67 | |||
| B. D. Lakshman | Independent | 24 | |||
| Invalid votes | 150 | – | |||
| South-West Viti Levu | A. D. Patel | Federation Party | 7,601 | Re-elected | |
| Ayodhya Prasad | Alliance Party | 4,025 | |||
| Invalid votes | 167 | – | |||
| Suva | Irene Jai Narayan | Federation Party | 5,676 | 67.1 | Elected |
| Andrew Deoki | Independent | 2,779 | 32.9 | Unseated | |
| Invalid votes | 108 | – | |||
| Tailevu-Rewa | K. C. Ramrakha | Federation Party | 3,220 | 71.5 | Elected |
| K. B. Singh | Independent | 677 | 15.1 | ||
| Ram Lochan Regan | Independent | 604 | 13.4 | ||
| Invalid votes | 105 | – | |||
| West Viti Levu Indian | Sidiq Koya | Federation Party | 6,318 | Re-elected | |
| Jaswant Singh | Independent | 2,221 | |||
| C. A. Patel | Independent | 19 | |||
| Invalid votes | 201 | – | |||
| Source: Pacific Islands Monthly | |||||
| Cross-voting seats | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Ethnic group | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Notes |
| Central | Fijian | Edward Cakobau | Alliance Party | Unopposed | Re-elected | |
| General | Douglas Walkden-Brown | Alliance Party | 21,208 | Elected | ||
| James Ah Koy | Independent | 5,604 | ||||
| David Whippy | Independent | 2,622 | ||||
| Trevor McNally | Independent | 976 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 11,518 | – | ||||
| Indo-Fijian | Abdul Lateef | Alliance Party | 15,498 | Elected | ||
| Madho Singh Tikaram | Federation Party | 13,487 | ||||
| C. P. Singh | Independent | 7,939 | Unseated | |||
| Shiu Narayan Kanhai | Independent | 1,505 | ||||
| M. Columbus | Independent | 1,077 | ||||
| M. Azam | Independent | 987 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 1,584 | – | ||||
| Northern and Eastern | Fijian | Kamisese Mara | Alliance Party | 26,025 | Re-elected | |
| Nemani Waka | Independent | 8,635 | ||||
| Informal | 885 | – | ||||
| General | Lindsay Verrier | Alliance Party | Unopposed | Elected | ||
| Indo-Fijian | Vijay R. Singh | Alliance Party | 26,634 | Elected | ||
| Vijay Singh | Federation Party | 8,068 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 808 | – | ||||
| Western | Fijian | Joshua Toganivalu | Alliance Party | 25,960 | Elected | |
| Penaia Rokovuni | Federation Party | 23,171 | ||||
| Isikeli Nadalo | National Democratic Party | 4,242 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 2,085 | – | ||||
| General | Loloma Livingston | Alliance Party | 23,768 | Elected | ||
| Peter Davis | Independent | 22,677 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 8,882 | – | ||||
| Indo-Fijian | K. S. Reddy | Alliance Party | 28,200 | Elected | ||
| Deo Narayan | Federation Party | 25,509 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 1,729 | – | ||||
| Source: Pacific Islands Monthly | ||||||
Following the elections, the two independents joined the Alliance Party. [2] A new government was formed with Kamisese Mara as Leader of Government Business. [4] The Executive Council consisted of six elected members and four civil servants. [5]
| 1966 Executive Council | |
|---|---|
| Position | Member |
| Leader of Government Business | Kamisese Mara |
| Natural Resources | |
| Attorney General | Justin Lewis |
| Acting Chief Secretary | Ian Thomson |
| Commerce, Industry and Tourism | Edward Cakobau |
| Communications and Works | Charles Stinson |
| Financial Secretary | Harry Richie |
| Secretary for Fijian Affairs and Local Government | Penaia Ganilau |
| Social Services | Vijay R. Singh |
| Undersecretary for Social Services | K. S. Reddy |
| Without portfolio | John Falvey |
At the first meeting of the Legislative Council on 11 November, Ronald Kermode was elected Speaker unopposed, with James Madhavan elected Deputy Speaker. [6]
Full ministerial government was introduced on 1 September 1967. On the same day, the Federation Party MLCs walked out of the Legislative Council. [7] After they missed three meetings, the nine Indo-Fijian communal seats were declared vacant and a series of by-elections held in 1968.
| 1967 Cabinet | |
|---|---|
| Position | Minister |
| Chief Minister | Kamisese Mara |
| Minister for Commerce, Industry and Labour | Edward Cakobau |
| Minister for Communications, Works and Tourism | Charles Stinson |
| Minister for Fijian Affairs and Local Government | Penaia Ganilau |
| Minister for Finance | Harry Richie |
| Minister for Natural Resources | Douglas Walkden-Brown |
| Minister without Portfolio | John Falvey |
| Minister for Social Services | Vijay R. Singh |
| Source: Pacific Islands Monthly | |
The Alliance Party, was the ruling political party in Fiji from 1966 to 1987. Founded in the early 1960s, its leader was Kamisese Mara, the founding father of the modern Fijian nation. Widely seen as the political vehicle of the traditional Fijian chiefs, the Alliance Party also commanded considerable support among the Europeans and other ethnic minorities, who, although comprising only 3–4% of Fiji's population, were over represented in the parliament. Indo-Fijians were less supportive, but the Fijian-European block vote kept the Alliance Party in power for more than twenty years.
Siddiq Moidin Koya was a Fijian Indian politician, Statesman and Opposition leader. He succeeded to the leadership of the mostly Indo-Fijian National Federation Party (NFP) on the death of the party's founder, A. D. Patel, in October 1969, remaining in this post until 1977. He later served a second term as leader of the NFP, from 1984 to 1987.
Since becoming independent of the United Kingdom in 1970, Fiji has had four constitutions, and the voting system has changed accordingly.
General elections were held in Fiji between 15 and 29 April 1972, the first since independence from the United Kingdom in 1970. They were characterised by the lack of rancour between racial groups, typical of the 1966 general election and the 1968 by-elections.
General elections were held in Fiji between 19 March and 2 April 1977. As a result of a split in the ethnic Fijian vote, the ruling Alliance Party of Prime Minister Kamisese Mara suffered a narrow defeat. Although the Alliance Party received the most votes, it won only 24 seats, two fewer than the Indo-Fijian-dominated National Federation Party (NFP). One seat was won by the Fijian Nationalist Party, with the remaining seat going to an independent candidate, Osea Gavidi.
General elections were held in Fiji between 10 and 17 July 1982. The paradoxical results were both a triumph and a setback for the Alliance Party of the Prime Minister, Kamisese Mara. The Alliance received 52% of the popular vote, only slightly down on its previous total, but won only 28 seats, eight fewer than in the previous elections of September 1977. Part of the reason for this discrepancy was that the slight surge in support for Mara's Alliance in the Indo-Fijian community, from 14 percent to 16 percent, was not sufficient to translate into seats in Fiji's communal electoral system, and did not therefore off-set losses among the ethnic Fijian community, particularly in the west of the country. The Western United Front of Osea Gavidi won only two seats, but split the vote, allowing the National Federation Party (NFP), with which it tactically allied itself, to gain seven seats for a total of 22. The NFP, which had split into two factions before the previous elections, had been reunited.
General elections were held in Fiji between 4 and 11 April 1987. They marked the first electoral transition of power in Fijian history. Despite receiving just under 50% of the vote, the Alliance Party of longtime Prime Minister, Kamisese Mara was defeated by a coalition of the Fiji Labour Party and National Federation Party, which won 28 seats to the Alliance's 24. The Labour Party's Timoci Bavadra became Prime Minister.
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 Legislative Council of Fiji was the colonial precursor to the present-day Parliament, which came into existence when Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970.
Communal constituencies were the most durable feature of the Fijian electoral system. In communal constituencies, electors enrolled as ethnic Fijians, Indo-Fijians, Rotuman Islanders, or General electors vote for a candidate of their own respective ethnic groups, in constituencies that have been reserved by ethnicity. Other methods of choosing parliamentarians came and went, but this feature was a constant until their final abolition in the 2013 Constitution.
National constituencies were a former feature of the Fijian electoral system. They were created as a compromise between demands for universal suffrage on a common voters' roll, and for a strictly communal franchise, with Parliamentary constituencies allocated on an ethnic basis and elected only by voters enrolled as members of specific ethnic groups.
James Shankar Singh, MBE was a Fiji Indian farmer, businessman, social worker and politician who served as a Minister in the Alliance Government of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. Like many Fiji Indian politicians of the era, he joined the Alliance Party with a belief in mutiracialism, but was disappointed with the Alliance Party's appeal to Fijian nationalism after 1977 and left the Alliance to join the National Federation Party.
By-elections for the nine Indo-Fijian seats in the Legislative Council were held in Fiji between 31 August and 7 September 1968. The seats had previously been held by the Federation Party, but their members had resigned in protest at the introduction of ministerial government and failure to reform the electoral system.
General elections were held in Fiji between 17 April and 4 May 1963. For the first time, women and indigenous Fijians were given the right to vote alongside the male European and Indo-Fijian population.
Andrew Indar Narayan Deoki was an Indo-Fijian statesman who served his community as a social and religious leader, soccer administrator, member of the Legislative Council and Senate in independent Fiji and as Attorney General.
The Federation Party was Fiji's first formal political party. The Citizens Federation, which had won three of the four seats reserved for Indo-Fijians at the 1963 elections, decided to formalize its role as a political party, which was officially founded on 21 June 1964 with A. D. Patel as President and Sidiq Koya as Vice-President. The merger took place in time for the party to participate in the 1965 constitutional conference which was called to map out a path towards independence from the United Kingdom. In 1968, the Federation Party merged with the National Democratic Party to form the National Federation Party, which is now (2021) the oldest political party in Fiji still in existence.
Mohammed Taiyab Khan was an Indo-Fijian politician and lawyer. Between 1966 and 1977 he served as a member of the Legislative Council, Senate and House of Representatives. He was also Minister for Commerce, Industries and Co-operatives from 1972 to 1976.
General elections were held in Fiji in July 1937, the first in which an equal number of Europeans and Indo-Fijians were elected.
A by-election for the Rewa–Suva seat in the House of Representatives of Fiji was held in December 1970 following the death of incumbent MP Alipate Sikivou in September 1970. The result was a victory for Uraia Koroi of the Alliance Party.
