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Fiji's Parliament is bicameral. 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. Fiji has held nine general elections for the House of Representatives since becoming independent of the United Kingdom in 1970; there had 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 TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A parliament is a Legislature, especially in those In Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral The House of Representatives has 71 members. The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. 25 of these are elected by universal suffrage. Universal suffrage (also universal adult suffrage, general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of the right to vote to The remaining 46 are reserved for Fiji's ethnic communities and are elected from communal electoral rolls: 23 Fijians, 19 Indo-Fijians, 1 Rotuman, and 3 "General electors" (Europeans, Chinese, and other minorities). 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 Rotuma is a Fijian Dependency, consisting of the island of Rotuma and the nearby islets of Hatana, Hạf Liua, Solkope, Solnohu "General Electors" is the term used in Fiji to identify citizens of voting age who belong in most cases to ethnic minorities The upper chamber of the parliament, the Senate, has 32 members, formally appointed by the President on the nomination of the Great Council of Chiefs (14), the Prime Minister (9), the Leader of the Opposition (8), and the Rotuman Islands Council (1). 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 Fiji 's Head of State is the President of the Republic of the Fiji Islands. The Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga in Fijian) is a now dormant 1997 constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands. 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 Senate is less powerful than the House of Representatives; the Senate may not initiate legislation, but it may reject or amend it.
The Senate's powers over financial bills are more restricted: it may veto them in their entirety, but may not amend them. A veto, Latin for "I forbid" is used to Denote that a certain party has the right to stop unilaterally a certain piece of Legislation. The House of Representatives may override a Senatorial veto by passing the bill a second time in the parliamentary session immediately following the one in which it was rejected by the Senate, after a minimum period of six months. Amendments to the Constitution are excepted: the veto of the Senate is absolute. The Constitution of Fiji is the supreme law of Fiji. Background The Constitution of the Republic of the Fiji Islands dates from 1997 Following the passage of a bill by the House of Representatives, the Senate has 21 days (7 days in the case of a bill classified as "urgent") to approve, amend, or reject it; if at the expiry of that period the Senate has done nothing about it, it is deemed to have passed the bill.
An anomaly that has arisen, as a result of the new parliament building having only one debating chamber, is that the Senate and House of Representatives use the same chamber at different times.
Parliamentary history
The Fijian Parliament dates from 10 October 1970, when Fiji became independent from the United Kingdom. Events 680 - Battle of Karbala: Shia Imam Husayn bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is decapitated Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Parliament replaced the former colonial legislative body, the Legislative Council, which had existed in various forms throughout the entire colonial period. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. The Fijian Legislative Council was the colonial precursor to the present-day Parliament, which came into existence when Fiji became independent on A grandfather clause in the 1970 Constitution, which was adopted on independence, provided for the old Legislative Council to be renamed as the House of Representatives and remain in office, pending the first post-independence elections in 1972. A grandfather clause is a term used in US English for an exception that allows an old rule to continue to apply to some existing situations when a new rule will apply to all future situations The general election to the Fijian House of Representatives in 1972 was the first since independence from the United Kingdom had been achieved Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Since independence, Parliamentary rule has been interrupted twice. The first interruption was from 1987 through 1992, owing to two coups d'état instigated by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) The Fiji coups of 1987 resulted in the overthrow of the elected government of Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, the deposition of Elizabeth II Lieutenant Colonel ( Lieutenant-Colonel in English from the French grade 's spelling is a rank of Commissioned officer in the armies Major-General Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, OBE, MSD, OStJ, (born September 13, 1948 is best known as the instigator of two military The second interruption was in 2000, when a coup attempted by George Speight rendered the parliamentary system unworkable and resulted in Parliament's dissolution. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian Putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of Prime George Speight, occasionally known as Ilikimi Naitini (born 16 May 1957) was the principal instigator of the Fiji coup of 2000, in which he A general election in 2001 restored the democratic system. The Constitution of Fiji was restored by a High Court decision on 15 November 2000, following the failure of the political upheaval Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.
The composition of Parliament has changed over the years. From 1972 to 1987, there were 52 Representatives and 22 Senators. In 1992, Parliament was enlarged to 70 Representatives and 34 Senators, figures marginally adjusted in 1999 to provide for 71 Representatives and 32 Senators. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar)
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