The politics of Fiji take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. Fiji has a multiparty system with the Prime Minister of Fiji as head of government. The executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Fiji. The judiciary is mostly independent of the executive and the legislature.
Brigadier-General RatuEpeli Nailatikau, is a Fijian chief who was President of Fiji from 2009 to 2015. He has had a long career in the Military, diplomatic service, and government. From 2001 to 2006 he served as Speaker of the House of Representatives – the lower and more powerful chamber of the Fijian Parliament. He was also the chairman of the Parliamentary Appropriations Committee and of the House Committee. On 8 January 2007, he was appointed the interim Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade; he was moved to the post of interim Minister for Provincial Development and Multi-Ethnic Affairs in September 2008. In October 2008, he became Indigenous Affairs Minister "and effectively Great Council of Chiefs chairman". On 17 April 2009, he was appointed Vice-President by the military government.
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.
Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama is a Fijian former politician and naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst party, which he founded in 2014, he began his career as an officer in the Fijian navy and commander of the Fijian military. Despite being suspended from Parliament, he served as the opposition leader from 24 December 2022 until 8 March 2023, when he resigned and was replaced by Inia Seruiratu.
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.
Major-General Jioji Konousi "George" Konrote, is a Fijian politician and retired Major-General of the Fiji Military who served as the President of Fiji from 2015 to 2021. After commanding a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, Konrote served as Fiji's High Commissioner to Australia from 2001 to 2006, as Minister of State for Immigration briefly in 2006, and as Minister for Employment Opportunities, Productivity and Industrial Relations from 2014 to 2015. He was the first non-iTaukei president, the first not to be a chief, and the first Seventh-day Adventist to be elected by parliament, as previous presidents were selected by the Great Council of Chiefs.
Parveen Kumar Bala is a Fijian politician and former Cabinet Minister. He served as Mayor of Ba from 1997 to 2009, and in the Cabinet of Frank Bainimarama from 2014 to 2022. He is a former president of the Fiji Local Government Association.
The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 was a coup d'état in Fiji carried out by Commodore Frank Bainimarama against Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and President Josefa Iloilo. It was the culmination of a political crisis that had begun the previous year when the Qarase government introduced three bills to the Fijian Parliament. The Qoliqoli, Land Tribunal, and Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bills dealt with the ongoing ethnic conflicts in Fiji and the aftermath of the 2000 coup, and were considered to be pro-ethnic Fijian. Bainimarama, the Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF), presented the government with a list of demands on October 16 that included withdrawing the bills. Attempts at negotiation failed and the military launched a coup on 4 December. Parliament was dissolved, Qarase and his cabinet were dismissed, and some civilian officials were placed under house arrest. After the Great Council of Chiefs refused to appoint a cabinet friendly to the military, Bainimarama reached an understanding with Iloilo and reinstated him as President on 4 January 2007. Iloilo then appointed Bainimarama acting Prime Minister in charge of the Interim Cabinet.
Jona Baravilala Senilagakali was a Fijian medical doctor and diplomat who was briefly appointed as Prime Minister of Fiji following the 2006 Fijian coup d'état. Subsequently he was Minister for Health in the military regime from 2007 to 2008.
General elections were held in Fiji on 17 September 2014 to select the 50 members of Parliament. The FijiFirst party, led by Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, won a landslide victory, winning 32 of the 50 seats. The Social Democratic Liberal Party and the National Federation Party were the only other two parties to cross the 5% electoral threshold and win seats.
Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is a Fijian politician and a former cabinet minister. He was the Fijian attorney general and the Minister for Economy, Civil Service and Communications, and also served as the minister responsible for climate change under the FijiFirst government. He is the third-highest polling candidate from the Fijian general elections of 2014, 2018 and 2022.
General elections will be held in Fiji by 2026 to elect members of the eighth Parliament under the 2013 constitution.
In April 2009, Fiji underwent a constitutional crisis when the Court of Appeal ruled that the 2006 Fijian coup d'état had been illegal. The Court dismissed the Interim Cabinet led by Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama that had governed Fiji since the coup. However, President Josefa Iloilo announced on a nationwide radio broadcast that he was abrogating the Constitution. He dismissed all judges and constitutional appointees, and reinstated Bainimarama and his cabinet. He also instituted emergency rule which increased police powers and allowed media censorship.
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.
FijiFirst was a liberal political party in Fiji. The party was formed in March 2014 by then Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama. It was deregistered on 1 July 2024.
The following lists events that happened during 2014 in Fiji.
Lt Col Pio Tikoduadua is a Fijian politician, cabinet Minister and Member of the Parliament of Fiji. He is the current President of the National Federation Party.
Premila Kumar is a Fijian consumer advocate, politician and former Cabinet Minister. She served as chief executive of the Consumer Council of Fiji from 2006 to 2018, and then as a Cabinet Minister in the government of Frank Bainimarama from 2018 to 2022. She is a member of the FijiFirst party.
Inia Batikoto Seruiratu is a Fijian politician and member of the Parliament of Fiji for the FijiFirst party. He has been serving as the Opposition Leader since 29 March 2023. He served as the Minister for Rural, Maritime Development and Disaster Management from 2020 to 2022, and Minister for Defence, National Security and Policing from 2018 to 2022.
