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Since becoming independent of the United Kingdom in 1970, Fiji has had four constitutions, and the voting system has changed accordingly.
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Since becoming independent of the United Kingdom in 1970, Fiji has had four constitutions, and the voting system has changed accordingly.
The Legislative Council elected in 1963 had 37 members. There were 12 elected members, four from each of the Fijian, Indian and European groups chosen on a communal franchise. The Governor also nominated two from each of the communities. There were to be 19 official members. The Legislative Councillors of each race were permitted to select two from their fellows to the Executive Council. Qualifications to register as a voter were as follows:
These definitions firstly disallowed an illiterate adult to vote, secondly permitted some people to choose between ethnic rolls and thirdly made no provision for Rotumans, non-Fijian Pacific Islanders and Chinese to vote. [1] [2]
The Legislative Council elected in 1966 had 36 members. Twenty-five seats represented communal constituencies (nine indigenous Fijians, nine Indians, and seven General Electors (Europeans, Chinese, and other minorities), elected on closed electoral rolls by voters registered as members of their respective ethnic groups. A further nine members were elected from national constituencies – seats allocated ethnically (three for each ethnic constituency) but elected by universal suffrage. The remaining two members were nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs. [3] [4]
Note: The following statistics show the number of seats in the House of Representatives won by particular political parties in general elections from 1966 to 2006. The Year at the top of each column links to a main article about the election held that year.
| Party | 1966 | 1972 | 03/1977 | 09/1977 | 1982 | 1987 | 1992 | 1994 | 1999 | 2001 | 2006 |
| All Nationals Congress Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - |
| Christian Democratic Alliance | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 | - |
| Conservative Alliance | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - |
| Alliance Party | 27 | 33 | 24 | 36 | 28 | 24 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Fijian Association Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 11 | 0 | - |
| Fijian Nationalist Party | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei | - | - | - | - | - | - | 36 | 33 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Fiji Labour Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | 13 | 7 | 37 | 27 | 38 |
| General Voters Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 4 | - | - | - |
| National Federation Party | 9 | 19 | 26 | 15 | 22 | - | 14 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| NFP/FLP coalition | - | - | - | - | - | 28 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| New Labour Unity Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - |
| Party of National Unity | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| United General Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Western United Front | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 32 | 36 |
| Independents | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 36 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 71 |
Note: The following statistics show the number of seats in the Parliament of Fiji won by particular political parties in general elections since 2014.
| Party | 2014 | 2018 | 2022 |
| FijiFirst | 32 | 27 | 26 |
| Fiji Labour Party | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fiji United Freedom Party | 0 | - | - |
| HOPE | - | 0 | - |
| National Federation Party | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| One Fiji Party | 0 | - | - |
| People's Alliance | - | - | 21 |
| People's Democratic Party | 0 | - | - |
| Social Democratic Liberal Party | 15 | 21 | 3 |
| Independents | 0 | - | 0 |
| TOTAL | 50 | 51 | 55 |
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