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 independent of the executive and the legislature.
The Parliament of Australia is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Crown, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The combination of two elected chambers, in which the members of the Senate represent the states and territories while the members of the House represent electoral divisions according to population, is modelled on the United States Congress. Through both chambers, however, there is a fused executive, drawn from the Westminster system.
The Senate of Fiji was the upper chamber of Parliament. It was abolished by the 2013 Constitution of Fiji, after a series of military coups. It was the less powerful of the two chambers; it could not initiate legislation, but could amend or veto it. The Senate's powers over financial bills were more restricted: it could veto them in their entirety, but could not amend them. The House of Representatives could override a Senatorial veto by passing the bill a second time in the parliamentary session immediately following the one in which it was rejected by the Senate, after a minimum period of six months. Amendments to the Constitution were excepted: the veto of the Senate was absolute. Following the passage of a bill by the House of Representatives, the Senate had 21 days to approve, amend, or reject it; if at the expiry of that period the Senate had done nothing about it, it was deemed to have passed the bill.
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji is the head of government of Fiji. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President under the terms of the 2013 Constitution of Fiji.
The Great Council of Chiefs(Bose Levu Vakaturaga in Fijian, ग्रेट काउंसिल ऑफ चीफ्स in Fiji Hindi) was a constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands from 1876 to March 2012. In April 2007 the council was suspended, due to an unworkable relationship with Frank Bainimarama, leader of an "interim government" which came to power through military coup in December 2006. It was formally disestablished by decree in March 2012.
The Speaker was the presiding officer of the Fijian House of Representatives. At its first session following a general election, the House members elected a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker. With a view to ensuring impartiality, the Speaker was not allowed to be a member of the House, though he was required to qualify for membership. The Deputy Speaker, however, was elected from among members of the House.
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 6: The Parliament.Chapter 6 of the Fiji Constitution is titled The Parliament. The five Parts, further subdivided into forty sections making up this chapter, set out the composition, functions, and powers of Fiji's bicameral legislature.
The post of Leader of the Opposition is a political office common in countries that are part of the Commonwealth of Nations. It did not originate in Fiji but has a long tradition; in British constitutional theory, the Leader of the Opposition must pose a formal alternative to the government, ready to form a government himself should the Prime Minister lose the confidence of the Parliament.
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.
The Parliament of Fiji is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Fiji. It consists of 51 members elected every 4 years using open-list proportional representation in one multi-member nationwide constituency.
Sir James Michael Ah Koy, KBE is a Fijian businessman, politician, and diplomat of Chinese and Fijian descent. He is Executive Chairman of Kelton Investments, the IT service provider Datec Group Ltd., Honorary Consul of the Republic of Georgia to Fiji and a board director of forty-six companies. He served as a Cabinet Minister in the 1990s, and was a Senator from 2001 to 2006. He is Fiji's past ambassador to China. He served until mid-2010, when he was replaced by Esala Teleni.
Fiji's chief governmental legal officer is the Attorney General. The office is usually held by the Minister for Justice, although they are distinct offices. Like other members of the Fijian Cabinet, the Attorney-General is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Mitieli Bulanauca is a Fijian politician, Member of the Parliament of Fiji, and former Cabinet Minister.
Ratu Epeli Niudamu is a Fijian Chief, soldier, and former political leader. The Paramount Chief of one of the four tikinas (districts) of Ra Province, he holds the title of Tui Nalawa. From 1996 to 2006, he represented the Province of Ra in the Senate as a nominee of the Great Council of Chiefs. He was formerly a member of the GCC, but was forced to give up his membership when he was nominated to the Senate.
Ratu Kinijoji R. Maivalili is a Fijian Chief and former political leader. From 2001 to 2006 he represented the Province of Cakaudrove in the Senate as one of fourteen nominees of the Great Council of Chiefs. Previously, he sat in the House of Representatives representing the Cakaudrove West Fijian Communal Constituency, which he won in 1999 but lost in 2001.
Ponipate Tawase Lesavua was a Fijian politician, who led the now-defunct Party of National Unity, which drew most of its support from Ba Province in the West of the country. The former Police officer, who spent 20 years in the Criminal Investigation Department, was an outspoken politician, who championed what he saw as the interests of western Fiji. He has endorsed calls for a return to the former system of customary justice, in force during the colonial era, under which convicted offenders would be returned to their villages not only for punishment but also for counselling and correction, according to the Fiji Times.
The President was the presiding officer of the Fijian Senate.
