Fiji election of 1999
Encyclopedia
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.
. In the 1990s, negotiations among Fiji's political and ethnic factions had led to an agreement to create 25 "open electorates," with Representatives of any race to be elected by universal suffrage; a further 46 Representatives would continue to represent ethnic communities and be elected from separate electoral rolls (23 ethnic Fijians, 19 Indo-Fijians, 1 Rotuman Islander
, with an additional three "general electorates" to represent Fiji's minority communities, including Europeans, Chinese, and Banaban Islanders
).
won all 19 Indo-Fijian seats, annihilating the National Federation Party
which had traditionally been Fiji's dominant Indo-Fijian party; Indo-Fijian voters were angered by the NFP's decision to enter into an electoral coalition agreement with the Fijian Political Party of Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka
, whom they had not forgiven for leading the military coup
that removed an Indo-Fijian dominated government from power in 1987. In addition to the 19 Indo-Fijian seats, the Labour Party won 18 of the 25 "open electorates" for a total of 37 - an absolute majority in the 71-member House. The Fijian Association Party
, led by Adi Kuini Speed
(the widow of former Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra
), won 11 seats (10 ethnic Fijian and 1 open) against only 8 seats (5 ethnic Fijian and 3 open) for the Fijian Political Party, which had ruled the country since 1992. The Christian Democratic Alliance
won 3 seats (2 ethnic Fijian and one open), while Apisai Tora's
Party of National Unity
won four ethnic Fijian seats. The United General Party
won one "general" and one open electorate. The remaining six seats (two ethnic Fijian, two "general electorates," one Rotuman, and one open) were won by minor parties and independents.
worked behind the scenes, however, to persuade the main ethnic Fijian parties in parliament to accept Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry as Prime Minister. To appease ethnic Fijians, Chaudhry gave 11 of the 18 Cabinet
posts to native Fijian politicians. Following the power-sharing provisions of the Constitution, the Cabinet was composed of members of numerous political parties.
Not all ethnic Fijians were appeased, however. Simmering resentment exploded on 19 May 2000, when George Speight
stormed the parliament buildings and kidnapped most members of the government, including Chaudhry in a coup
.
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...
between 8 and 15 May 1999. They were the first election held under the revised Constitution
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....
of 1997, which instituted a new electoral system
Electoral system of Fiji
- Historical overview :Fiji's electoral system is the result of complex negotiations, compromises, and experiments conducted over the years leading up to and following independence from British colonial rule in 1970. A number of devices have been tried at various times to accommodate the reality...
and resulted in Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Pal Chaudhry is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party...
taking office as Fiji's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister.
Electoral system
Previously, all seats in the Fijian House of Representatives had been allocated on an ethnic basis, with the numbers deliberately skewed in favour of ethnic FijiansFijian 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...
. In the 1990s, negotiations among Fiji's political and ethnic factions had led to an agreement to create 25 "open electorates," with Representatives of any race to be elected by universal suffrage; a further 46 Representatives would continue to represent ethnic communities and be elected from separate electoral rolls (23 ethnic Fijians, 19 Indo-Fijians, 1 Rotuman Islander
Rotuma
Rotuma 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"...
, with an additional three "general electorates" to represent Fiji's minority communities, including Europeans, Chinese, and Banaban Islanders
Banaba Island
Banaba Island , an island in the Pacific Ocean, is a solitary raised coral island west of the Gilbert Island chain and 300 km east of Nauru. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. It has an area of 6.5 km², and the highest point on the island is also the highest point in Kiribati, at 81...
).
Results
Mahendra Chaudhry's Fiji Labour PartyFiji 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...
won all 19 Indo-Fijian seats, annihilating the 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...
which had traditionally been Fiji's dominant Indo-Fijian party; Indo-Fijian voters were angered by the NFP's decision to enter into an electoral coalition agreement with the Fijian Political Party of Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka
Sitiveni Rabuka
Major-General Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, OBE, MSD, OStJ, is best known as the instigator of two military coups that shook Fiji in 1987. He was later democratically elected the third Prime Minister, serving from 1992 to 1999...
, whom they had not forgiven for leading the military coup
Fiji coups of 1987
The Fiji coups of 1987 resulted in the overthrow of the elected government of Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and in the declaration of a republic...
that removed an Indo-Fijian dominated government from power in 1987. In addition to the 19 Indo-Fijian seats, the Labour Party won 18 of the 25 "open electorates" for a total of 37 - an absolute majority in the 71-member House. The 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....
, led by Adi Kuini Speed
Kuini Speed
Adi Kuini Teimumu Vuikaba Speed was a Fijian chief and politician, who served as Deputy Prime Minister in 1999 and 2000....
(the widow of former Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Uluivuda Bavadra was a medical doctor who served for one month as the second Prime Minister of Fiji in 1987 and who founded the Fiji Labour Party....
), won 11 seats (10 ethnic Fijian and 1 open) against only 8 seats (5 ethnic Fijian and 3 open) for the Fijian Political Party, which had ruled the country since 1992. The 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....
won 3 seats (2 ethnic Fijian and one open), while Apisai Tora's
Apisai Tora
Mohammad Apisai Vuniyayawa Tora is a Fijian politician and former soldier and trade unionist. As a labour leader, he was a fighter for dock workers. As a soldier, he served in Malaya and is currently the President of the Ex-Servicemen's League....
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...
won four ethnic Fijian seats. The 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...
won one "general" and one open electorate. The remaining six seats (two ethnic Fijian, two "general electorates," one Rotuman, and one open) were won by minor parties and independents.
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... |
231,946 | 32.2 | 37 | |
| Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei The Fijian Political Party is a party which dominated politics in the 1990s and was the mainstay of coalition governments from 1992 to 1999, but which is currently without representation in the House of Representatives.-Origins:The party was founded in 1990 as the political... |
143,177 | 19.9 | 8 | |
| 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... |
104,985 | 14.6 | 0 | |
| 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.... |
72,907 | 10.1 | 10 | |
| 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.... |
70,153 | 9.7 | 3 | New |
| 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 :... |
31,587 | 4.4 | 2 | New |
| 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... |
28,874 | 4.0 | 4 | New |
| United General Party | 10,144 | 1.4 | 2 | New |
| United National Labour Party | 3,963 | 0.6 | 0 | New |
| Coalition of Independent Nationals Coalition of Independent Nationals (Fiji) The Coalition of Independent Nationals is a political party in Fiji without parliamentary representation. The party won less than 0.1 % of the popular vote. It was originally a grouping of six candidates styling themselves as independents, in the 1999 election and was led by Prince Vyas Muni... |
2,405 | 0.3 | 0 | New |
| Lio 'On Famör Rotuma Party Lio 'On Famör Rotuma Party (Fiji) Lio 'On Famör Rotuma or LFR is a political party in Fiji, which seeks to represent the interests of the Rotuman people in their main representative constituency, that is, the Rotuman Communal Constituency, which elects a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for all people of... |
1,982 | 0.3 | 0 | New |
| Party of the Truth Party of the Truth (Fiji) The Party of Truth is a political party in Fiji. It is currently without parliamentary representation.... |
234 | 0.0 | 0 | New |
| Farmers and General Workers Coalition Party | 197 | 0.0 | 0 | New |
| Viti Levu Dynamic Multiracial Democratic Party | 124 | 0.0 | 0 | New |
| Natural Law Party | 109 | 0.0 | 0 | New |
| Nationalist Democratic Party | 13 | 0.0 | 0 | New |
| Independents | 17,382 | 2.4 | 5 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | 39,567 | |||
| Total | 399,759 | 100 | 71 | +1 |
| Source: Nohlen et al | ||||
Aftermath
Many ethnic Fijians were unwilling to accept the result of the election, which was partly because their own votes had been so fragmented while those of Indo-Fijians had been much more united. President and "father of the nation" Ratu Sir Kamisese MaraKamisese Mara
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, CF, GCMG, KBE is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. He was Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992...
worked behind the scenes, however, to persuade the main ethnic Fijian parties in parliament to accept Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry as Prime Minister. To appease ethnic Fijians, Chaudhry gave 11 of the 18 Cabinet
Cabinet (Fiji)
Fiji has the Westminster system - executive authority is vested nominally in a President, but exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is formally appointed, but not chosen, by the President: the President must appoint as Prime...
posts to native Fijian politicians. Following the power-sharing provisions of the Constitution, the Cabinet was composed of members of numerous political parties.
Not all ethnic Fijians were appeased, however. Simmering resentment exploded on 19 May 2000, when George Speight
George Speight
George Speight , occasionally known as Ilikimi Naitini, was the principal instigator of the Fiji coup of 2000, in which he kidnapped thirty-six government officials and held them from May 19, 2000 to July 13, 2000...
stormed the parliament buildings and kidnapped most members of the government, including Chaudhry in a coup
Fiji coup of 2000
The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of a non-native Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and...
.