Composition
The Senate had 32 members. Formally, they were appointed by the president for five-year terms coinciding with the term of the House of Representatives. Constitutionally, however, the president was required to accept the nominees of specified institutions. Fourteen senators were chosen by the Bose Levu Vakaturaga (Great Council of Chiefs), though in practice it had chosen to delegate this prerogative to Fiji's 14 provincial councils, each choosing one senator. A further nine senators were chosen by the prime minister and eight by the leader of the opposition. The one remaining senator was selected by the Council of Rotuma, a Fijian dependency.
From among their own members, the senators used to elect a president and vice-president, whose roles were similar to those of the speaker and deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively. As of September 2006, the president of the Senate was Ratu Kinijoji Maivalili; the vice-president was Hafiz Khan. They were chosen in June 2006 to replace Taito Waqavakatoga and Kenneth Low, both of whom had retired from the Senate.
The built-in near-majority of Fijian chiefs in the Senate gave them an effective veto over contentious social legislation, as well as constitutional amendments, provided they voted as a block, as they would almost certainly be joined by enough other senators to muster a majority. In addition, any changes to clauses of the constitution guaranteeing indigenous Fijian ownership and control of most of the land had to be approved by 9 of the 14 senators chosen by the Great Council of Chiefs, as well as by a majority in the Senate as a whole.
Senators, like their fellow-parliamentarians from the House of Representatives, could be appointed to the Cabinet – the executive arm of government.
History
The Fijian Senate came into being in 1972, when the old unicameral Legislative Council was replaced by the bicameral Parliament. The Senate was restructured twice after the original constitutional structures went into effect.
From 1972 to 1987, the Senate consisted of 22 members. Appointed by the governor-general on the nomination of the Great Council of Chiefs (8), the prime minister (7), the leader of the opposition (6), and the council of Rotuma (1), senators served six-year terms, with half retiring every three years. The first term of office for half of the nominees of the Great Council of Chiefs and of the leader of the opposition, three of the seven nominees of the prime minister, and the lone Rotuman senator, was for three years only, ending in 1975. The Senate was a permanent body; it was never dissolved.
The Constitution was rewritten following two military coups in 1987. The Senate was expanded to 34 members appointed by the president for four-year terms, with half retiring every two years. The president appointed 24 senators on the nomination of the Great Council of Chiefs, 1 on the nomination of the Council of Rotuma, and a further 9 at his own discretion from the Indo-Fijian and minority communities. This arrangement was in effect from 1992 to 1999. The first term of 12 of the 24 senators nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs and 4 of the 9 appointed to represent other communities was for two years only, ending in 1994. As previously, the Senate was never dissolved.
Constitutional arrangements came into effect in 1997–1998, and the first Senate so appointed took office in 1999. For the first time, all senators served concurrent, five-year terms, coinciding with the term of the House of Representatives.
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