With
an
election looming and political parties in campaign mode,
the Fijian government has hinted that a new constitution
could be in place by Christmas Eve.
The move has been
described by a local civil society organisation as a “grave
threat” to democracy and the rule of law, while one of the
minor parties in the Sitiveni Rabuka-led coalition
government has distanced itself from “any attempt to rush
constitutional reform”.
In a statement on Wednesday,
the Fijian government said Cabinet had endorsed the
Constitution Review Commission’s (CRC) report to be
presented in parliament and had supported a request for a
special sitting on 22 September.
The CRC, established
in March this year, conducted nationwide consultations and
received submissions on Fiji’s 2013 Constitution before submitting
its report and a draft constitution bill to the
country’s head of state on 31 August.
According to the
government, the Commission’s report identifies areas for
reform of the 2013 Constitution.
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Rabuka and other
critics have long argued that the 2013 Constitution was
imposed by the Bainimarama administration following the 2006
military coup.
The constitution also introduced equal
citizenship for all Fiji nationals and formally adopted
“Fijian” as the common national identity for all citizens,
regardless of ethnicity.
“Cabinet’s decision to table
the report does not constitute acceptance or adoption of all
the Commission’s recommendations.
“The Cabinet
Subcommittee on the Review of the Constitution will continue
its detailed consideration of the recommendations, including
their practical, legal and policy implications, and will
report back to Cabinet on the way forward. This will include
consideration of any transitional arrangements that may be
required.”
It added that the proposed process provides
that the CRC’s report will be debated in parliament during
its sitting from 28 September.
“Subject to the passage
of the Bill and subsequent parliamentary processes, a
referendum is proposed to be held between November and
mid-December 2026.
“If approved through the required
processes, the new Constitution is proposed to come into
effect by 24 December 2026.”
However,
the Centre for Democracy and Dialogue, formerly known as
Dialogue Fiji, has warned that the proposed timeline to
introduce a new constitution by 24 December raises serious
constitutional, legal and democratic concerns.
The
Centre’s CEO Nilesh Lal said the government’s proposed
timeline would plunge Fiji into a period of “undemocratic
rule”.
Lal said the democratic authority of Fiji’s
parliament was time-bound.
“It is derived from the
mandate given by voters at a general election and expires
after a defined period, 4 years in the case of the current
parliament,” he said.
He said a constitution coming
into force in late December could make it “legally and
administratively impossible” to hold a general election
within the required period following the dissolution of
parliament under Fiji’s 2013 Constitution.
“If
constitutional reform is used to delay the next election,
extend parliament, or allow the executive to govern beyond
the life of an elected parliament, it would amount in
substance to an autogolpe, or self-coup,” he
said.
Rabuka’s former deputy PM and National
Federation Party (NFP) leader Biman Prasad said his party
would not support a “rushed process”.
“We have had
constitutional upheavals in this country,” Prasad told
FBC News.
“In fact, we have had four
constitutions and constitution-making process ought to be
open, transparent and accountable. It must be the document
that has the broad support of our
people.”
Opposition: Rabuka ‘acting
recklessly’
Fiji’s opposition leader Inia Seruiratu
has also weighed in on the issue, urging the government to
slow down and explain to the Fijian people “why it is
necessary to have a new Constitution in force by Christmas
Eve”.
“The people must be given adequate opportunity
to understand what is being proposed, what they may gain,
what they may lose and how the proposed Constitution will
change the way Fiji is governed,” he said in a statement on
Friday.
He warned that Rabuka and his Cabinet were
“acting recklessly”.
“I am calling on the Government
to slow this process down,” he
said.
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