Elections in Fiji
Encyclopedia
Fiji
has held nine general elections for the House of Representatives
since becoming independent of the United Kingdom in 1970; there had been numerous elections under colonial
rule, but only one with universal suffrage
(in 1966). In this period, Fiji has had three constitutions
, and the voting system has changed accordingly. Note that there are no general elections for the Senate
: The 32 Senators are nominated, not elected.
elected in 1963 had 37 members. There were 12 elected members, four from each of the Fijian
, Indian and Europe
an 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, Pacific Islander
s, Chinese
and Part-Chinese to vote.
The Legislative Council elected in 1966 had 36 members. 25 seats represented Communal constituencies
(9 indigenous Fijians, 9 Indians, and 7 General Electors
(Europeans
, Chinese, and other minorities), elected on closed electoral rolls by voters registered as members of their respective ethnic groups. A further 9 members were elected from National constituencies
- seats allocated ethnically (3 for each ethnic constituency) but elected by universal suffrage. The remaining 2 members were nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs
.
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
has held nine general elections for the House of Representatives
House of Representatives (Fiji)
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. It is the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone has the power to initiate legislation...
since becoming independent of the United Kingdom in 1970; there had been numerous elections under colonial
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
rule, but only one with universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
(in 1966). In this period, Fiji has had three constitutions
Constitution of Fiji
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 Commodore Frank Bainimarama....
, and the voting system has changed accordingly. Note that there are no general elections for the Senate
Senate (Fiji)
The Senate of Fiji is the upper chamber of Parliament. It is the less powerful of the two chambers; it may not initiate legislation, but may amend or veto it. The Senate's powers over financial bills are more restricted: it may veto them in their entirety, but may not amend them...
: The 32 Senators are nominated, not elected.
Suffrage and representation
The Legislative CouncilLegislative Council (Fiji)
The Fijian Legislative Council was the colonial precursor to the present-day Parliament, which came into existence when Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970.-The first Legislative Council:...
elected in 1963 had 37 members. There were 12 elected members, four from each of the Fijian
Fijian people
Fijian people are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. The Fijian people are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, though the exact origins of the Fijian people are unknown...
, Indian and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an 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:
- British subjectBritish subjectIn British nationality law, the term British subject has at different times had different meanings. The current definition of the term British subject is contained in the British Nationality Act 1981.- Prior to 1949 :...
- Age of twenty-one years or over
- Resident in the colony for a period of, or periods amounting in the aggregate of, not less than twelve months out of the preceding three years.
- Ability to read and write a simple sentence and sign one’s name in the English languageEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
in the case of a European, in either English or Fijian in the case of a Fijian, and for an Indian either in English, HindiHindiStandard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, UrduUrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, TamilTamil languageTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, TeluguTelugu languageTelugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, GurmukhGurmukhi scriptGurmukhi is the most common script used for writing the Punjabi language. An abugida derived from the Laṇḍā script and ultimately descended from Brahmi, Gurmukhi was standardized by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad Dev Ji, in the 16th century. The whole of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji's 1430...
i, GujaratiGujarati languageGujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
or MalayalamMalayalam languageMalayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...
. "European" and "Indian" were defined as a person whose father or any of whose male progenitors in the male line was a European or Indian, respectively, while a "Fijian" was defined as "a person whose father or any of whose progenitors in the male line ... was an aboriginal native of the colony, excluding the island of RotumaRotumaRotuma is a Fijian dependency, consisting of Rotuma Island and nearby islets. The island group is home to a small but unique indigenous ethnic group which constitutes a recognizable minority within the population of Fiji, known as "Rotumans"...
and its dependencies."
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, Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...
s, Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
and Part-Chinese to vote.
The Legislative Council elected in 1966 had 36 members. 25 seats represented Communal constituencies
Communal constituencies (Fiji)
Communal constituencies have been the most durable feature of the Fijian electoral system. In communal constituencies, electors enrolled as ethnic Fijians, Indo-Fijians, Rotuman Islanders, or General Electors vote for a candidate of their own respective ethnic groups, in constituencies that have...
(9 indigenous Fijians, 9 Indians, and 7 General Electors
General Electors (Fiji)
"General Electors" is the term used in Fiji to identify citizens of voting age who belong, in most cases, to ethnic minorities. The Constitution defines General Electors as all Fiji citizens who are not registered as being of Fijian, Indian, or Rotuman descent. Also included are citizens who do...
(Europeans
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
, Chinese, and other minorities), elected on closed electoral rolls by voters registered as members of their respective ethnic groups. A further 9 members were elected from National constituencies
National constituencies (Fiji)
National constituencies are a former feature of the Fijian electoral system. They were created as a compromise between demands for universal suffrage on a common voters' roll, and for a strictly communal franchise, with Parliamentary constituencies allocated on an ethnic basis and elected only by...
- seats allocated ethnically (3 for each ethnic constituency) but elected by universal suffrage. The remaining 2 members were nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs
Great Council of Chiefs (Fiji)
The Great Council of Chiefs is a now dormant 1997 constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands. 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 a military coup in December 2006...
.
- From 1972 through 1987, the House of Representatives had 52 members. Of these, 22 were allocated to indigenous Fijians and another 22 to Indo-Fijians; a further 8 were allocated to General Electors (Europeans, Chinese, and other minorities). Of the 22 seats allocated each to indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians, 12 were elected from Communal constituencies and 10 from National constituencies. Of the 8 seats allocated to General Electors, 3 were elected from a communal roll and 5 from national constituencies. All members represented single-member constituencies, and were elected by the First past the post system. In the same period, the newly-established Senate had 22 members (8 nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs (of whom any three held the power of veto over changes to the country's land laws), 7 by the Prime Minister, 6 by the Leader of the OppositionLeader of the Opposition (Fiji)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...
, and 1 by the Council of RotumaCouncil of RotumaThe Council of Rotuma is a municipal body on the island of Rotuma, a Fijian dependency. Owing to the unique character of Rotuma, the powers of this council are greater than those of other municipal bodies in Fiji and in some ways it approximates a legislative body, though it is in every way...
).
- In 1992 and 1994, the House of Representatives had 70 members. 37 seats were allocated to indigenous Fijians, 27 to Indo-Fijians, 1 to Rotuman Islanders, and 5 to General Electors. All were elected from communal rolls; that is, all members were elected only by voters registered as belonging to their own ethnic group. The First past the post system remained in effect. The Senate in this time had 34 members (24 nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs and 1 by the Council of Rotuma; a further 9 were appointed by the President to represent non-indigenous Fijians).
- From 1999 onwards, the House of Representatives has had 71 members. 25 represent open electorates;Open constituencies (Fiji)Open constituencies represent one of several electoral models employed in the past and present in the Fijian electoral system. They derive their name from the fact that they are "open": unlike the communal constituencies, the 25 members of the House of Representatives who represent open...
these members are elected by universal suffrage and may belong to any race. The remaining 46 seats are communal, with 23 being allocated to indigenous Fijians, 19 to Indo-Fijians, 1 to Rotuman Islanders, and 3 to General Electors. Instant run-off voting was adopted for these elections. The Senate now has 32 members (14 nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs, 9 by the Prime Minister, 8 by the Leader of the Opposition, and 1 by the Council of Rotuma).
Past elections
Note: The following statistics show the number of seats in the House of Representatives won by particular political parties in general elections since 1966. 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 Christian Democratic Alliance (Fiji) The Christian Democratic Alliance, better known locally by its Fijian name, Veitokani ni Lewenivanua Vakarisito , was a Fijian political party that operated in the late 1990s and early 2000s.... |
|||||||||||
| 3 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Conservative Alliance Conservative Alliance (Fiji) The Conservative Alliance was a far-right political party in Fiji, and a member of the ruling coalition government. It was commonly known as the CAMV, a combination of the initials of its English and Fijian names... |
|||||||||||
| 6 | |||||||||||
| Fijian Alliance Fijian Alliance The Alliance Party, was the ruling political party in Fiji from 1966 to 1987. Founded in the early 1960s, its leader was Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the founding father of the modern Fijian nation... |
27 | 33 | 24 | 36 | 28 | 24 | |||||
| Fijian Association Party Fijian Association Party The Fijian Association Party is a former political party in Fiji. It played a significant role in Fijian politics throughout the 1990s, but lost all of its seats in the House of Representatives in the parliamentary election of 2001.... |
|||||||||||
| 5 | 11 | 0 | |||||||||
| Fijian Nationalist Party Fijian Nationalist Party The Fijian Nationalist Party was a political party in Fiji, founded in 1975 by Sakeasi Butadroka, a parliamentarian who defected from the then-ruling Fijian Alliance, on a "Fiji for the Fijians!" platform. Its support peaked in the parliamentary election of March 1977, when it took 24.4 percent... |
|||||||||||
| 1 | |||||||||||
| 2 | |||||||||||
| Fijian Political Party | |||||||||||
| 36 | 33 | 8 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| Fiji Labour Party Fiji Labour Party The Fiji Labour Party is a political party in Fiji, which holds observer status with the Socialist International. Most of its support at present comes from the Indo-Fijian community, although it is officially multiracial and its first leader was an indigenous Fijian, Dr. Timoci Bavadra. It is... |
|||||||||||
| 13 | 7 | 37 | 27 | 31 | |||||||
| General Voters Party | |||||||||||
| 4 | 4 | ||||||||||
| National Federation Party National Federation Party (Fiji) The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party... |
9 | 19 | 26 | 15 | 22 | ||||||
| 14 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||||
| NFP/FLP coalition Coalition A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant... |
|||||||||||
| 28 | |||||||||||
| Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party (Fiji) The Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party is a Fijian political party which champions Fijian ethnic nationalism. It is currently led by Iliesa Duvuloco, while Viliame Savu serves as the party's President.- Founding and ideology :... |
|||||||||||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
| New Labour Unity Party New Labour Unity Party (Fiji) The New Labour Unity Party was a Fijian political party, which broke away from the Fiji Labour Party in May 2001. It was founded by Tupeni Baba, a former Deputy Prime Minister and Labour Party stalwart, who had become dissatisfied with Mahendra Chaudhry's leadership and expressed fears that if... |
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| 2 | |||||||||||
| Party of National Unity Party of National Unity (Fiji) The Party of National Unity is a Fijian political party founded by Ratu Sairusi Nagagavoka in 1998; as of 2006, Nagagavoka is the President of the party. A well-known member of the party was Apisai Tora... |
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| 4 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
| United General Party United Peoples Party (Fiji) The United Peoples Party is a political party in Fiji, whose support base lies chiefly among General Electors - Fiji Islanders who belong to ethnic minorities, such as Europeans, Chinese, Banaban Islanders, as well as multiracial people... |
|||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Western United Front Western United Front (Fiji) Western United Front was an ethnically Fijian political party formed prior to the 1982 elections and contested the election in coalition with the National Federation Party .- The formation of the Party :... |
|||||||||||
| 2 | |||||||||||
| United Fiji Party | |||||||||||
| 32 | 36 | ||||||||||
| Independents | |||||||||||
| 1 | |||||||||||
| 5 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
| TOTAL | 36 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 71 |