Politics of Fiji


The politics of Fiji take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. Fiji has a multiparty system with the Prime Minister of Fiji as head of government. The executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Fiji. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Following the 2006 Fijian coup d'état, the power was subsumed by the military. Nominal head of state Ratu Josefa Iloilo abrogated the Constitution of Fiji and dismissed all Courts, after the Court of Appeal ruled that the post-coup Bainimarama government was illegal. A new Constitution was promulgated in September 2013, and a general election was held in September 2014, won by Bainimarama's FijiFirst Party.
The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Fiji as a "hybrid regime" in 2018.

Constitutional structure

Executive branch

Legislative branch

Under the 2013 Constitution, Fiji's Parliament is unicameral. Its 50 members are elected for four-year terms by Party-list proportional representation, with the entire country voting as a single constituency. To win election to Parliament, a political party must win five percent of the total valid vote nationwide. Fiji's system differs from that of many other countries using the party-list system, however, in that voters do not vote for a party, as such, but for an individual candidate. Each voter is allowed to vote for only one candidate. The votes for all candidates on a party ticket are pooled, their aggregate as a percentage of the total valid vote determining the number of seats in Parliament to which their party is entitled. The eligible number of candidates from a political party are elected in the order of the number of votes they received individually. In the 2014 elections, for example, the FijiFirst Party polled 59.2 percent of the valid vote. When votes for small parties polling less than the five-percent threshold were excluded, this entitled FijiFirst to 32 of the 50 seats. These were filled by the 32 FijiFirst candidates who polled the highest number of votes as individuals.
Prior to the adoption of the 2013 Constitution, Fiji's Parliament consisted of two houses. The more powerful of the two chambers, the House of Representatives, had 71 members, elected for five-year terms. 25 were elected by universal suffrage. The remaining 46 were reserved for Fiji's ethnic communities and were elected from communal electoral rolls: 23 Fijians, 19 Indo-Fijians, 1 Rotuman, and 3 "general electors". The House chose a Speaker, who was not allowed to be a present member of the House.
The "upper chamber", the Senate, was primarily a house of review: it could not initiate legislation, but could amend or reject it. The 32 senators were formally appointed by the President on the nomination of the Great Council of Chiefs, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Council of Rotuma. Senators as well as Representatives could serve as cabinet Ministers.
When the Parliament was bicameral, the attorney-general, Fiji's top legal official who sits in the cabinet, was the only member of Parliament permitted to attend sessions of both chambers. The attorney-general had voting rights only in the chamber to which he or she was elected or appointed, but was authorised to attend and participate in debates in the other chamber.

Judicial branch

Fiji maintains an independent judiciary, with judicial power vested in three courts established by the Constitution, which also makes provision for other courts to be set up by Parliament; Magistrates' Courts have accordingly been set up. The High Court and the Supreme Court are both presided over by the Chief Justice ; the Chief Justice is barred, however, from membership of the Court of Appeal, which comprises three judges. The Appeal Court, which did not exist prior to the 1997 Constitution, has the power "to hear and determine appeals" from judgements of the High Court; decisions of this court may be further appealed to the Supreme Court, whose decision is final. The judiciary managed to maintain its independence from political control in the aftermath of the coups of 1987. Following the 2000 coup, however, its integrity was compromised, in the eye of many, when three judges advised then-President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to abrogate the constitution. Mara refused and resigned; a military administration replaced him. Then Chief Justice recognised the military government, triggering widespread disappointment to those who had seen the judiciary as a model of independence. On 15 November 2000, however, the High Court forced the reinstatement of the 1997 Constitution, which had been abrogated in June following the forced resignation of President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara on 29 May.
Following the military coup of 2006, the Military dismissed Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki and appointed the more pliable Anthony Gates in his place. Following a Court of Appeal decision in 2009 that the Military-backed interim government was illegal, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo abrogated the constitution, dismissed all judges, and reappointed the interim government. Some judges were subsequently reappointed and some were not.

Local government

There are four administrative divisions, each under the charge of a commissioner appointed by the central government. The divisions are further subdivided into fourteen provinces, each of which has a provincial council. In addition, the island of Rotuma has the status of a dependency, and enjoys a degree of internal autonomy, with its own island council.
Ethnic Fijians have their own administration in which councils preside over a hierarchy of provinces, districts, and villages. The councils deal with all matters affecting ethnic Fijians. The 55‑member Great Council of Chiefs '' included 3 representatives from each of Fiji's 14 provinces and 1 dependency, 3 ex-officio members, and 6 government appointees; former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka was a life-member. The Great Council of Chiefs advised the government, and also functioned as an electoral college to appoint the President of the Republic, as well as 14 of the 32 Senators. This prerogative of the Council was delegated to the 14 provincial councils, each choosing one senator. It was a constitutional oddity that even though Fiji became a Republic in 1987, Queen Elizabeth II was by the Great Council of Chiefs as the Tui Viti, the Paramount Chief, until 2012, when the council was disestablished.
Suva, Lautoka, and nine other towns have municipal governments, with city or town councils, each chaired by a mayor. These are responsible for the local affairs of all citizens, and are elected by universal suffrage.

Contentious issues

Most of Fiji's political controversies are related to the ethnic fault line that characterises Fijian politics. Fiji is one of the rare countries in the world that officially imposes disabilities on a group that constitutes a large part of the population on the pretended basis of race. It has caused an exodus of the Indians, who until recently formed a slight majority in Fiji.

Land tenure

One of the main issues that has fuelled the contention over the years is land tenure. Indigenous Fijian communities very closely identify themselves with their land. In 1909 near the peak of the inflow of indentured Indian labourers, the land ownership pattern was frozen and further sales prohibited. Today over 80% of the land is held by indigenous Fijians, under the collective ownership of the traditional Fijian clans. Indo-Fijians produce over 90% of the sugar crop but must lease the land they work from its ethnic Fijian owners instead of being able to buy it outright. The leases have been generally for 10 years, although they are usually renewed for two 10‑year extensions. Many Indo-Fijians argue that these terms do not provide them with adequate security and have pressed for renewable 30‑year leases, while many ethnic Fijians fear that an Indo-Fijian government would erode their control over the land.
The Indo-Fijian parties' major voting bloc is made up of sugarcane farmers. The farmers' main tool of influence has been their ability to galvanise widespread boycotts of the sugar industry, thereby crippling the economy.

Citizenship and residency issues

, previously prohibited under the 1997 constitution, has been permitted since the April 2009 Citizenship Decree and established as a right under Section 5 of the September 2013 Constitution.

International organisation participation

, ADB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G‑77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFCCC, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.

The Consumer Council of Fiji

The Consumer Council of Fiji is a statutory organisation that looks after consumer interest in Fiji.
The Consumer Council of Fiji is a statutory body established under the Consumer Council of Fiji Act 1976. The council is governed by a board of directors appointed by the Minister of trade & industry. The board headed by a chairman appoints the chief executive officer, who runs the operations of the organisation.
The Council's head office is located on 4 Carnavon Street, in the Fijian capital of Suva. It has two other offices, one located in Lautoka that serves the western division and the other in Labasa that serves the northern division. The Council has four core divisions: Campaigns, Information and Media Division; Alternative Dispute Resolution and Consumer Advisory Division; Research and Policy Analysis; and Administration, Human Resource & Project Management Division.