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.[1][2] 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.[3] It is also the first ever to grant the right to multiple citizenship (in effect since 2009 by decree,[4][5] on abrogation of the 1997 constitution), and lowers the voting age to 18.

Background

Fiji's first constitution, implemented in 1970 at the time of independence from the UK, contained negotiated provisions to enshrine the political supremacy of the minority indigenous population.[6] When an Indo-Fijian dominated government was elected despite these safeguards, the 1987 Fijian coups d'état took place, resulting in even tighter measures in the 1990 constitution.

Widespread Indo-Fijian dissent, coupled with a population shift back to an indigenous majority, prompted a more inclusive approach in the 1997 constitution. This was followed by the election of the first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister, and the violent, failed civilian coup of 2000. The 2013 constitution gave Indo-Fijians equal status in the country.[7]

Rationale

The 2000 coup was ended by military intervention. Fifteen people died.[8] Power was handed over to a civilian administration, which subsequently won the 2001 elections — depending for its majority on elements that had been supportive of the coup — and granted early release to several conspirators who had been imprisoned.[9] It also proposed legislation that would have extended amnesty to those involved (the Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill).

This angered the head of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, Frank Bainimarama, who spoke out against the government, formally demanded a reversal, withstood an attempt to replace him, and eventually launched his own bloodless coup in December 2006.

As Prime Minister, Bainimarama declared that the race-based electoral system — which he characterized as insulating the well-connected not only from political consequences but from justice and the law — had to be reformed before new elections were held. After months of international pressure, he announced elections for 2009, but then reversed himself,[10] saying that a whole new system (a new census, a new voter's list, and a new constitution) would need to be established to prevent a return to the "coup culture."

In 2008, the government-appointed National Council for Building a Better Fiji released the People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress, which established guidelines for drafting a new constitution, and in 2012 public hearings began across the country to solicit input from the community.[11]

Criticism

In 2012 the military regime appointed a constitutional commission to draft a new constitution as part of a return to democracy.[12] in December 2012 Tikoitoga ordered all copies of the draft seized[13] and demanded the prosecution of commission chair Yash Ghai.[14] The draft was subsequently discarded and a new, military-drafted constitution imposed.

Original draft author Yash Ghai has publicly disagreed with changes in the final document, including the removal of regional representation, maintaining that it favors larger political parties.[15]

According to an article published in The Economist by an uncredited writer in Wellington, New Zealand, despite its electoral success, the FijiFirst government is also "despised" by "many" native Fijians for implementing the 2013 Constitution of Fiji which describes all of Fiji's citizens as "Fijians", regardless of their ethnicity, causing "some" indigenes to have fears of "cultural annihilation" and an "Islamic conspiracy to control the country", due to the Attorney General of Fiji being of Muslim background."[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "President signs long-awaited Fiji constitution into law" Australia Network News, September 19, 2013
  2. ↑ "Fiji: New Constitution Signed into Law" Library of Congress, Global Legal Monitor, September 9, 2013
  3. ↑ "2013 Constitution". Elections Fiji. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  4. ↑ "Citizenship". Fiji Department of Immigration. Archived from the original on 27 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  5. ↑ "2009 Citizenship Decree (PDF)" (PDF). Fiji Department of Immigration. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  6. ↑ "A Time Bomb Lies Buried: Fiji's Road to Independence, 1960-1970". Australian National University E Press. March 2008.
  7. ↑ "The legacy of Indian migration to European colonies". The Economist. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  8. ↑ "George Speight". Time Magazine. 25 December 2000.
  9. ↑ "The 2006 Military Takeover in Fiji: A Coup To End All Coups?". Australian National University E Press. April 2009.
  10. ↑ "Bainimarama rules out elections in Fiji this year". The New Zealand Herald. 20 January 2009.
  11. ↑ "Fiji begins public hearings on new constitution" Australia Network News, August 6, 2012
  12. ↑ "Fiji Constitutional Commission sworn in". RNZ. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "Call for transparency after Fiji regime seizes draft constitution". RNZ. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "Fiji military says Ghai should be charged over constitution distribution". RNZ. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "Constitutional expert Yash Ghai says he doubts if Fiji PM Frank Bainimarama has read constitution". Australia Network News. 23 October 2013.
  16. ↑ "Fiji's army-tainted politics". The Economist. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
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