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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). Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य Politics of Fiji takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Fiji is the Politics of Fiji takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Fiji is the Fiji 's Head of State is the President of the Republic of the Fiji Islands. Ratu is a title used by Fijians of chiefly rank An equivalent title Adi (andi is used by females of chiefly rank Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda, CF, MBE, MSD, KStJ, (born December 29, 1920) has been the President The Fijian vice-presidency is a mostly ceremonial office The position was created in 1990, to provide a constitutional successor to the President, As a former British colony, Fiji has largely adopted British political models and follows the Westminster, or Cabinet system of government in which the Commodore is a Military rank used in many navies for officers whose position exceeds that of a navy captain, but is less than Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, MSD, OStJ, Fijian Navy, known commonly as Frank Bainimarama and sometimes by the chiefly title Fiji has the Westminster system - executive authority is vested nominally in a President, but exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Ministers presided Fiji 's chief governmental legal officer is the Attorney General. The post of Leader of the Opposition is a political office common in countries that are part of the Commonwealth of Nations. Fiji 's Parliament is Bicameral. The House of Representatives has 71 members 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 House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. The Speaker is the presiding officer of the Fijian House of Representatives. Fiji is divided administratively into four divisions which are further subdivided into fourteen Provinces Each division is headed by a Commissioner Fiji has established municipal governments for two cities ( Suva and Lautoka) and ten Towns ( Ba, Labasa, Lami Fiji's municipal elections of October 2002 produced results that allowed three major political parties the United Fiji Party (SDL the Fiji Labour Party Municipal elections were held for 11 of Fiji's twelve City and Town councils on 22 October 2005. The title of Queen of Fiji was held by Queen Elizabeth II between 1972 and 1987. Fiji was a British Crown Colony from 1874 to 1970 and an independent Dominion in the British Commonwealth from 1970 to 1987 Fiji became a British Crown Colony in 1874 and an independent Dominion in the Commonwealth in 1970 Fiji 's British colonial rulers established the office of Chief Minister in October 1967 along with the Cabinet system of government The colonial Governors of Fiji relied on the Executive Council for advice on proposals for legislation which after being discussed in the Executive Council meetings The Fijian Legislative Council was the colonial precursor to the present-day Parliament, which came into existence when Fiji became independent on The Constitution of Fiji is the supreme law of Fiji. Background The Constitution of the Republic of the Fiji Islands dates from 1997 The Constitution of Fiji begins with a Preamble, which sets out the historical cultural and political reasons for the drafting of the 1997 Constitution Chapter 1 The State The first chapter of the Fiji Constitution is titled The State Chapter 2 Compact The second chapter of the Fiji Constitution contains Sections 6 and 7 of the Constitution Chapter 3 Citizenship The third chapter of the Fijian Constitution, comprising Sections 8 through 20 of the Constitution set out the rules for Chapter 4 Bill of Rights Chapter 4 of the Constitution of Fiji is titled Bill of Rights Chapter 5 Social Justice Chapter 5 of the Fiji Constitution is titled Social Justice Chapter 6 The Parliament Chapter 6 of the Fiji Constitution is titled The Parliament Chapter 7 Executive Government Chapter 7 of the Fiji Constitution is titled Executive Government Chapter 8 Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga Chapter 8 Executive Government Chapter 9 Judiciary Chapter 9 of the Fijian constitution is titled Judiurt of Appeal (Fiji|Court of Appeal]] and the Supreme Court, and also Chapter 10 State Services Chapter 10 of the Fijian constitution is titled State Services Chapter 11Accountability Chapter 11 of the Fijian constitution is titled Accountability Chapter 12 Revenue and Expenditure Section 175 Raising of revenue The raising by the Government of revenue or moneys whether through the imposition of taxation or otherwise Chapter 13 Group Rights Section 185 Alteration of certain Acts (1 A bill alters any of the following Acts namely(a Fijian Affairs Act(b Fijian Development Fund Chapter 14 Emergency Powers Section 187 Emergency powers (1 The Parliament may make a law conferring power on the President acting on the advice of the Cabinet Chapter 15 Amendment of Constitution Section 190 Alteration of Constitution This Constitution may be altered in the way set out in this Chapter and may not be altered Chapter 16 Commencement Interpretation and Repeals Section 193 Short title and commencement (1 This Act maybe cited as the Constitution Amendment Act 1997 Chapter 17 of the Constitution of Fiji is named "Schedule Oaths and Affirmations The Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga in Fijian) is a now dormant 1997 constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands. The Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga in Fijian) is a formal assembly of Fiji 's senior hereditary chiefs, along with Ratu Ovini Bokini Ratu (born 3 November 1944) is a Fijian chief and political leader Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, MSD, OStJ, Fijian Navy, known commonly as Frank Bainimarama and sometimes by the chiefly title This article lists political parties in Fiji. Fiji has a Multi-party system with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining 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 The Fijian House of Representatives consists of 71 members all elected from single member constuencies. A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures goals or loyalty Open constituencies represent one of several electoral models employed in the past and present in the Fijian electoral system. Communal constituencies have been the most durable feature of the Fijian electoral system. National constituencies are a former feature of the Fijian electoral system. The Constitution of Fiji requires general elections for the House of Representatives to be held at least once every five years General elections were until recently scheduled to be held in Fiji in March 2009 Elections to the offices of President and Vice-President of Fiji took place on 8 March 2006, when the Great Council of Chiefs Fiji has had many coups recently in 1987 2000 and 2006. Fiji has been suspended various times from the Commonwealth of Nations, a grouping of mostly Fiji has a small number of diplomatic missions abroad - it does not even have missions on any neighbouring Pacific Island states Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. Universal suffrage (also universal adult suffrage, general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of the right to vote to Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. In this period, Fiji has had three constitutions, and the voting system has changed accordingly. The Constitution of Fiji is the supreme law of Fiji. Background The Constitution of the Republic of the Fiji Islands dates from 1997 Note that there are no general elections for the Senate: The 32 Senators are nominated, not elected. 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
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Suffrage and representation
The Legislative Council elected in 1963 had 37 members. The Fijian Legislative Council was the colonial precursor to the present-day Parliament, which came into existence when Fiji became independent on Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. There were 12 elected members, four from each of the Fijian, Indian and European groups chosen on a communal franchise. Fijian people are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. Indo-Fijians are Fijians who trace their ancestry to India. They number 311591 (37 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 subject
- 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. In British nationality law, the term British subject has at different times had different meanings
- Ability to read and write a simple sentence and sign one’s name in the English language in the case of a European, in either English or Fijian in the case of a Fijian, and for an Indian either in English, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Gurmukhi, Gujarati or Malayalam. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Hindi ( Devanāgarī: hi [[wiktहिन्दी हिन्दी]] or hi [[wiktहिंदी हिंदी]] IAST:, IPA:) is Urdu ( ur '''{{Nastaliq اردو}}''' trans Urdū, historically spelled Ordu) is a Central Indo-Aryan language Urdu is a standardised Tamil (ta தமிழ்; t̪əmɨɻ is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. Gurmukh literally means To face the Guru. The word in Punjabi means to follow the "ways of the Guru" and not to follow your animal instincts and basic Gujarati (ગુજરાતી Gujǎrātī ? Not to be confused with the Malay language. Malayalam (മലയാളം malayāḷaṁ) is a Dravidian language used "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 Rotuma and its dependencies. Rotuma is a Fijian Dependency, consisting of the island of Rotuma and the nearby islets of Hatana, Hạf Liua, Solkope, Solnohu "
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 Islanders, Chinese and Part-Chinese to vote. Pacific Islander (or Pacific Person, pl Pacific People, also called Oceanic[s] ' is a geographic term to describe the Austronesian The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following A person who resides in and holds citizenship of the People's Republic of China (including Hong
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. Communal constituencies have been the most durable feature of the Fijian electoral system. "General Electors" is the term used in Fiji to identify citizens of voting age who belong in most cases to ethnic minorities The European peoples are the various Nations and Ethnic groups of Europe. A further 9 members were elected from National constituencies - seats allocated ethnically (3 for each ethnic constituency) but elected by universal suffrage. National constituencies are a former feature of the Fijian electoral system. The remaining 2 members were nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs. The Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga in Fijian) is a now dormant 1997 constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands.
- From 1972 through 1987, the House of Representatives had 52 members. Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) 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). Indo-Fijians are Fijians who trace their ancestry to India. They number 311591 (37 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. The plurality voting system is a Single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member 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 Opposition, and 1 by the Council of Rotuma). As a former British colony, Fiji has largely adopted British political models and follows the Westminster, or Cabinet system of government in which the The post of Leader of the Opposition is a political office common in countries that are part of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Council of Rotuma is a Municipal body on the island of Rotuma, a Fijian dependency
- In 1992 and 1994, the House of Representatives had 70 members. Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) 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). Fiji 's Head of State is the President of the Republic of the Fiji Islands.
- From 1999 onwards, the House of Representatives has had 71 members. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) 25 represent open electorates; these members are elected by universal suffrage and may belong to any race. Open constituencies represent one of several electoral models employed in the past and present in the Fijian electoral system. 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. Instant-runoff voting ( IRV) is a Voting system used for single-winner elections in which voters have one vote and rank Candidates in order of 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).
Latest elections
| Parties | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) | 342,352 | 44. The Constitution of Fiji requires general elections for the House of Representatives to be held at least once every five years Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. The Constitution of Fiji requires general elections for the House of Representatives to be held at least once every five years The Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (occasionally known as the United Fiji Party but usually known by the acronym SDL) is a political party in Fiji 59 | 36 | +2 | ||
| Fiji Labour Party (FLP) | 300,797 | 39. The Fiji Labour Party (FLP is a political party in Fiji, which holds observer status with the Socialist International. 18 | 31 | +4 | ||
| National Federation Party (NFP) | 47,615 | 6. The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A 20 | 0 | -1 | ||
| National Alliance Party of Fiji (NAPF) | 22,504 | 2. The National Alliance Party of Fiji (NAPF is a Fijian Political party. 93 | 0 | |||
| United Peoples Party (UPP) | 6,474 | 0. The United Peoples Party is a political party in Fiji, whose support base lies chiefly among General Electors - Fiji Islanders who belong to ethnic 84 | 2 | +1 | ||
| Party of National Unity (PANU) | 6,226 | 0. The Party of National Unity (better known by its Acronym of PANU) is a Fijian political party founded by Ratu Sairusi Nagagavoka 81 | 0 | |||
| Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party (NVTLP) | 3,657 | 0. The Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party (NVTLP is a Fijian political party which champions Fijian Ethnic nationalism. 48 | 0 | |||
| Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT) | 238 | 0. The Fijian Political Party (better known by its initials SVT, which stand for its Fijian name Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei) is a party 03 | 0 | |||
| National Democratic Party (NDP) | 123 | 0. The National Democratic Party is the name of two political parties that have been formed in Fiji's history 02 | 0 | |||
| Party of Truth (POTT) | 51 | 0. The Party of Truth (POTT is a Political party in Fiji. It is currently without parliamentary representation. 01 | 0 | |||
| Social Liberal Multicultural Party (SLM) | 49 | 0. The Social Liberal Multicultural Party is a minor Political party in Fiji. 01 | 0 | |||
| Coalition of Independent Nationals (COIN) | 20 | 0. The Coalition of Independent Nationals (COIN is a Political party in Fiji without parliamentary representation 00 | 0 | |||
| Justice and Freedom Party (JFP) | 18 | 0. The Justice and Freedom Party (JFP is a minor Political party in Fiji. 00 | 0 | |||
| Independents | 37,571 | 4. In Politics, an independent is a Politician who is not Affiliated with any Political party. 89 | 2 | |||
| New Labour Unity Party | Didn't contest | 0 | -2 | |||
| Total | 767,695 | 100. The New Labour Unity Party was a Fijian political party, which broke away from the Fiji Labour Party in May 2001. 0 | 71 | |||
| Source: Elections Office of Fiji. The former Conservative Alliance, with six seats merged into the SDL. The Conservative Alliance ( Matanitu Vanua in Fijian) was a nationalistic political party in Fiji, and a member of the ruling Coalition SDL got two seats less then SDL and CA together. | ||||||
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 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 | - |
| Conservative Alliance | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - |
| Fijian Alliance | 27 | 33 | 24 | 36 | 28 | 24 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Fijian Association Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 11 | 0 | - |
| Fijian Nationalist Party | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Fijian Political Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | 36 | 33 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Fiji Labour Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | 13 | 7 | 37 | 28 | 31 |
| General Voters Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 4 | - | - | - |
| National Federation Party | 9 | 19 | 26 | 15 | 22 | - | 14 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NFP/FLP coalition | - | - | - | - | - | 28 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| New Labour Unity Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - |
| Party of National Unity | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| United General Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Western United Front | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| United Fiji Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 32 | 36 |
| Independents | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 36 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 71 |
See also
External links
This article lists political parties in Fiji. Fiji has a Multi-party system with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining The general election to the Legislative Council of Fiji in 1966 was the last to be held before independence from the United Kingdom was granted The general election to the Fijian House of Representatives in 1972 was the first since independence from the United Kingdom had been achieved Fiji's election for the House of Representatives held in March 1977 was the second since independence from the United Kingdom in 1970 A general election to Fiji's House of Representatives was held in September 1977, to resolve the impasse of an earlier election that had been Fiji's fourth general election to the House of Representatives was held in 1982. The general election of April 1987 was Fiji's fifth since the country had gained its independence from the United Kingdom seventeen years earlier A general election was held to restore Fiji to democracy in 1992. Fiji held a general election in 1994, three years earlier than scheduled The general election to the Fijian House of Representatives, held from 8 to 15 May 1999, was historic The Constitution of Fiji was restored by a High Court decision on 15 November 2000, following the failure of the political upheaval The Constitution of Fiji requires general elections for the House of Representatives to be held at least once every five years The Christian Democratic Alliance better known locally by its Fijian name Veitokani ni Lewenivanua Vakarisito (VLV was a Fijian political party The Conservative Alliance ( Matanitu Vanua in Fijian) was a nationalistic political party in Fiji, and a member of the ruling Coalition The Alliance Party was the ruling political party in Fiji from 1966 to 1987 The Fijian Association Party (FAP is a former political party in Fiji. The Fijian Nationalist Party (FNP was a political party in Fiji, founded in 1975 by Sakeasi Butadroka, a parliamentarian who defected from The Fijian Political Party (better known by its initials SVT, which stand for its Fijian name Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei) is a party The Fiji Labour Party (FLP is a political party in Fiji, which holds observer status with the Socialist International. The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A A coalition is an alliance among individuals during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own Self-interest. The Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party (NVTLP is a Fijian political party which champions Fijian Ethnic nationalism. The New Labour Unity Party was a Fijian political party, which broke away from the Fiji Labour Party in May 2001. The Party of National Unity (better known by its Acronym of PANU) is a Fijian political party founded by Ratu Sairusi Nagagavoka The United Peoples Party is a political party in Fiji, whose support base lies chiefly among General Electors - Fiji Islanders who belong to ethnic Western United Front (WUF was an ethnically Fijian political party formed prior to the 1982 elections and contested the election in coalition with the The Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (occasionally known as the United Fiji Party but usually known by the acronym SDL) is a political party in Fiji A voting system allows voters to choose between options often in an Election where candidates are selected for public office.Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic