Municipal elections in Fiji
Encyclopedia
Fiji has established municipal governments
Local government of Fiji
Fiji is divided administratively into four divisions, which are further subdivided into fourteen provinces; the self-governing island of Rotuma and its dependencies lie outside any of the four divisions. Each division is headed by a Commissioner, appointed by the Fijian government...

 for two cities
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 (Suva
Suva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...

 and Lautoka
Lautoka
Lautoka is the second largest city of Fiji and the second largest in the South Pacific. It is in the west of the island of Viti Levu, 24 kilometres north of Nadi, and is the second port of entry in Fiji, after Suva. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane growing region, it is known as the Sugar...

) and ten town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

s (Ba, Labasa
Labasa
Labasa is a town in Fiji with a population of 27,949 at the most recent census held in 2007.Labasa is located in Macuata Province, in the north-eastern part of the island of Vanua Levu, and is the largest town on the island. The town itself is located on a delta formed by three rivers - the...

, Lami, Levuka
Levuka
Levuka is a town on the eastern coast of the Fijian island of Ovalau, in Lomaiviti Province, in the Eastern Division of Fiji. It was formerly the Capital of Fiji. At the census in 2007, the last to date, Levuka town had a population of 1,131 , about half of Ovalau's 8,360 inhabitants...

, Nadi, Nausori
Nausori
Nausori is a town in Fiji. It had a population of 47,604 at the 2007 census, the most recent to date. This makes it the fourth most populous municipality in the country. Situated 19 kilometers out of Suva, it forms one pole of the burgeoning Suva-Nausori corridor.Nausori grew up around Fiji's...

, Nasinu
Nasinu
Nasinu is an urban area on the island Viti Levu in Fiji. It is officially designated a "Town" despite its population . Nasinu is the most populous municipality in Fiji, having overtaken that of Suva , and is one of Fiji's fastest-growing towns...

, Savusavu
Savusavu
Savusavu is a town in the Fijian Province of Cakaudrove. The town is located on the south coast of Vanua Levu Island and had a population of 3,372 in the 2007 census.Savusavu is known as "the hidden paradise of Fiji."- Geography :...

, Sigatoka
Sigatoka
For the banana disease, see Black sigatoka.Sigatoka is a town in Fiji. It is found on the island of Viti Levu and is situated at the mouth of the Sigatoka River, after which it is named, some 69 kilometers from Nadi. In Fiji's last census the population of Sigatoka was at 9622...

, and Tavua). Each city or town has a council comprising between 8 and 20 members, elected for three-year terms, although the government announced legislation on 15 February 2006 to extend the term to four years. Each city or town council elects from among its own members a Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 (or Lord Mayor in the case of Suva
Suva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...

) for one year. Consecutive terms are permitted.

The last municipal election
Fiji municipal election, 2002
Fiji's municipal elections of October 2002 produced results that allowed three major political parties, the United Fiji Party , the Fiji Labour Party , and the National Federation Party to claim a victory of sorts...

 was held on 22 October 2005, except in Suva
Suva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...

 and one ward of Lautoka
Lautoka
Lautoka is the second largest city of Fiji and the second largest in the South Pacific. It is in the west of the island of Viti Levu, 24 kilometres north of Nadi, and is the second port of entry in Fiji, after Suva. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane growing region, it is known as the Sugar...

, where the death of candidates resulted in the postponing of the poll till 12 November.

Electoral politics

Electoral politics in municipal elections has certain characteristics that set it apart from national politics. Political parties often do regard municipal polls as a trial run for national elections
Elections in Fiji
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 this period, Fiji has had three constitutions, and the voting system has...

; in the 1985 election for the Suva City Council
Suva City Council
The Suva City Council is the municipal law-making body of the city of Suva, Fiji's capital. It consists of 20 Councillors, elected for three-year terms from four multi-member constituencies called wards...

, for example, the newly-formed 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...

 (FLP) showed that it was on the rise by winning 8 of the 20 seats. It went on to win the parliamentary election
Fiji election of 1987
General elections were held in Fiji between 4 and 11 April 1987. It was historic in that it marked the first electoral transition of power in Fijian history...

 in 1987. Local issues also come into play, however:
  • At the national level, the National Federation Party (NFP) has been unrepresented in 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 the disastrous results of the 1999
    Fiji election of 1999
    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.-Electoral system:Previously,...

     and 2001
    Fiji election of 2001
    The Constitution of Fiji was restored by a High Court decision on 15 November 2000, following the failure of the political upheaval in which the government had been deposed and the constitution suspended in May that year. On 1 March 2001, the Appeal Court upheld the decision. An election to...

     elections, but has remained strong at the municipal level. As of 2006, the NFP retains power in Ba and Nadi
    Nadi
    Nadi is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Indian or Fijian, along with a large transient population of foreign...

    , shares power in a 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...

     with the United Fiji Party (SDL) in Sigatoka
    Sigatoka
    For the banana disease, see Black sigatoka.Sigatoka is a town in Fiji. It is found on the island of Viti Levu and is situated at the mouth of the Sigatoka River, after which it is named, some 69 kilometers from Nadi. In Fiji's last census the population of Sigatoka was at 9622...

    , and is the second largest party in the Suva City Council.
  • In 2003, Suva's 5 councillors from the FLP teamed up with the 7 councillors from the United Fiji Party (SDL) - its arch-rival in national politics - to elect the SDL candidate, Ratu Peni Volavola
    Peni Volavola
    Captain Ratu Peni Volavola is the Lord Mayor of the Fijian capital of Suva.Volavola, a Councillor representing the Tamavua ward, was elected Lord Mayor in 2003, under a memorandum of understanding between of his United Fiji Party and the National Federation Party of his predecessor, Chandu...

    , to the office of Lord Mayor.
  • In the city of Lautoka
    Lautoka
    Lautoka is the second largest city of Fiji and the second largest in the South Pacific. It is in the west of the island of Viti Levu, 24 kilometres north of Nadi, and is the second port of entry in Fiji, after Suva. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane growing region, it is known as the Sugar...

    , a purely local political party, the Sugar City Ratepayers Alliance
    Sugar City Ratepayers Alliance
    The Sugar City Ratepayers Alliance is a Fijian political party that operates only on the municipal level, in the city of Lautoka. It was founded early in 2005 with a view to contesting the municipal elections to the Lautoka City Council, scheduled for 22 October 2005...

    , contested the 2005 election (but failed to win any seats). A number of other parties operating only at the municipal level contested other town councils, some of them successfully, winning control of councils in Labasa
    Labasa
    Labasa is a town in Fiji with a population of 27,949 at the most recent census held in 2007.Labasa is located in Macuata Province, in the north-eastern part of the island of Vanua Levu, and is the largest town on the island. The town itself is located on a delta formed by three rivers - the...

    , Lami
    Lami
    Lami, Fiji is an urban area in Rewa Province, Fiji, north-west of Suva. It was formally incorporated as a Town in 1977, and had a population of 20,529 at the most recent census in 2007. The municipal boundaries enclose an area of 680 square kilometers....

    , Levuka
    Levuka
    Levuka is a town on the eastern coast of the Fijian island of Ovalau, in Lomaiviti Province, in the Eastern Division of Fiji. It was formerly the Capital of Fiji. At the census in 2007, the last to date, Levuka town had a population of 1,131 , about half of Ovalau's 8,360 inhabitants...

    , Nausori
    Nausori
    Nausori is a town in Fiji. It had a population of 47,604 at the 2007 census, the most recent to date. This makes it the fourth most populous municipality in the country. Situated 19 kilometers out of Suva, it forms one pole of the burgeoning Suva-Nausori corridor.Nausori grew up around Fiji's...

    , Savusavu
    Savusavu
    Savusavu is a town in the Fijian Province of Cakaudrove. The town is located on the south coast of Vanua Levu Island and had a population of 3,372 in the 2007 census.Savusavu is known as "the hidden paradise of Fiji."- Geography :...

    , and Tavua
    Tavua
    Tavua is a town in Fiji, 91 kilometres from Nadi and 9 kilometres from the gold mining settlement of Vatukoula. It was formally incorporated as a Town in 1992, with a land area of 100 square kilometres, and had a population of 2,418 at the 1996 census, the last to date.Tavua is governed by a...

    .
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