Fiji This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Fiji coat of arms of fiji This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ... Constitutional Structure See main article: Constitution of Fiji and linked articles. ... Government Executive President Josefa Iloilo Vice-President Joni Madraiwiwi Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase Cabinet Attorney-General Leader of the Opposition Legislative Fiji became a republic in 1987, when Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom formally abdicated as Queen of Fiji, following two military coups led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. ... Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda (born December 29, 1920) has been the President of Fiji since 2001. ... The Fijian vice-presidency is a mostly ceremonial office. ... Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi (born 1957) is the Vice-President of Fiji. ... Fiji received its independence in 1970. ... Laisenia Qarase (born February 4, 1941) is the Prime Minister of Fiji. ... Fiji has the Westminster system - executive authority is vested nominally in a President, but exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister. ... The Attorney General of Fiji is his countrys official lawyer within the government. ... The post of Leader of the Opposition is a political office common in countries that are part of the Commonwealth of Nations. ... Parliament Senate House of Representatives Speaker Local government Fijis Parliament is bicameral. ... The Senate of Fiji is the upper chamber of Parliament. ... Overview The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fijis 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. ... Municipal elections 2002 2005 Former institutions Fiji has established municipal governments have been established for two cities (Suva and Lautoka) and ten towns (Ba, Labasa, Lami, Levuka, Nadi, Nausori, Nasinu, Savusavu, Sigatoka, and Tavua). ... Queen of Fiji Governor Governor-General Chief Minister Executive Council Legislative Council Constitution The title of Queen of Fiji was held by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 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 British Commonwealth in 1970; the British Monarch (Queen Elizabeth II remained the Head of State until 1987, when she formally abdicated following two military coups). ... Fijis 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, came before the Legislative Council in the form of bills. ... The Fijian Legislative Council was the colonial precursor to the present-day Parliament, which came into existence when Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970. ... Preamble 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Great Council of Chiefs This article is a commentary on the Preamble to the Fijian constitution. ... Chapter 1: The State. ... Chapter 2: Compact. ... Chapter 3: Citizenship. ... Chapter 4: Bill of Rights. ... Chapter 5: Social Justice. ... Chapter 6: The Parliament. ... Chapter 7: Executive Government. ... Chapter 8 Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga) Chapter 8: Executive Government. ... Chapter 9 Judiciary Section 117 Judicial power (1) The judicial power of the State vests in the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court and in such other courts as are created by law. ... Chapter 10 State Services Section 140 Recruitment and promotion policy The recruitment of persons to a state service, the promotion of persons within a state service and the management of a state service must be based on the following principles: (a) government policies should be carried out effectively and efficiently... Chapter 11 Accountability Part 1 Code of Conduct Section 156 Code of Conduct (1) This section applies to the President, Vice-President, Ministers, members of Parliament, holders of offices established by or continued in existence under this Constitution, members of commissions, Secretaries of departments, the Secretary to the Cabinet and... 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, must be authorised by or under an Act. ... 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 Act; (c) Native Lands Act; (d) Native Land Trust Act; (e) Rotuman Act; (f) Rotuman Lands Act; (g) Banaban Lands Act; or... Chapter 14 Emergency Powers Section 187 Emergency powers (1) The Parliament may make a law conferring power on the President, acting an the advice of the Cabinet, to proclaim a state of emergency in Fiji, or in a part of Fiji, in such circumstances as the law prescribes. ... Chapter 15 Amendment of Constitution Section 190 Alteration of Constitution This Constitution maybe altered in the way set out in this Chapter and may not be altered in any other way. ... 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] Schedule Oaths and Affirmations [Part 1] A. Oath or Affirmation of Allegiance Oath: I, A.B., do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Republic of the Fiji Islands, according to law. ... The Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga in Fijian) is a constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands. ... Chairman, G.C.C. Ovini Bokini Political parties Electoral system The Great Council of Chiefs The Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga in Fijian) is a formal assembly of Fijis senior hereditary chiefs, along with some representatives of the national government and provincial councils, who may or may not be hereditary chiefs themselves. ... Ratu Ovini Bokini is a Fijian statesman. ... A political party is a political organization subscribing to a certain ideology or formed around very special issues with the aim to participate in power, usually by participating in elections. ... Voting Constituencies Open Communal National Elections 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. ... Elections in Fiji gives information on election and election results in Fiji. ... Parliamentary 1963 1966 1968 1972 March 1977 September 1977 1982 1987 1992 1994 1999 2001 2006 Presidential 1992 1994 1999 2000 2001 2006 Foreign relations Diplomatic missions Other countries • Politics Portal view • talk • edit

History of Fiji Timeline Discovery The rise and fall of Cakobau Colonial Fiji Fiji since 1970 Main article Constitutional crisis of 1977 Coups of 1987 Coup of 2000 Main article Timeline - Mutinies Aftermath - Allegations Mara deposed - Iloilo plot Investigations - Trials Court Martial - Military unrest Reconciliation Commission Main article Supporters - Opponents Qualified positions Military opposition Religious reaction Military-church relations Foreign reaction Crisis of 2005-2006 Main article Timeline Baledrokadroka incident Reaction Coup attempt of 2006 Main article Fiji maintains an independent, but generally pro-Western, foreign policy. ... Fiji maintains direct diplomatic or consular relations with countries with historical, culrural, or trading ties to Fiji; Ambassadors stationed in such countries are often accredited to neighbouring countries. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... The timeline below shows a thumbnail sketch of Fijian history, from ancient times to the present day. ... Located in the central Pacific Ocean, Fijis geography has made it both a destination and a crossroads for migrations for many centuries. ... The first three quarters of the Nineteenth Century were marked by tribal warfare, incursions from neighbouring Tonga, and the increasing encroachment of foreign powers. ... The United Kingdom turned down its first opportunity to annex Fiji in 1852. ... Since attaining independence from the United Kingdom on 10 October 1970, Fijian history has been marked by exponential economic growth up to 1987, followed by relative stagnation, caused to a large extent by political instability following two military coups in 1987 and a civilian putsch in 2000. ... On May 21, 2003, the Police Investigations Department confirmed that they had opened an investigation into the resignation of the Fijis former President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. ... Police spokeswoman Sylvia Low announced on 25 August that they were considering opening an investigation into allegations made the previous day by the Military Commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, that Senator Apisai Tora and a number of others had approached him in the Fijian Holdings boardroom during the 2000 crisis and... The mutiny that took place at Fijis Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Suva on 2 November 2000, resulted in the death of four loyal soldiers. ... The Reconciliation and Unity Commission is a proposed government body to be set up if the Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, which was introduced into the Fijian Parliament on May 4, 2005, is passed. ... The controversial legislation proposed by the Fijian government to establish a Reconciliation and Unity Commission has the strong support of Prime Minister Qarase, Attorney General Qoriniasi Bale, and other members of the ruling coalition. ... Most Fijian politicians outside of the government have come out against the legislation to establish a Commission with the power, subject to presidential approval, to pardon perpetrators and compensate victims of the coup détat against the elected government in 2000. ... link title // Headline text --67. ... Commodore Frank Bainimarama, Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, has been a vociferous and uncompromising critic of the governments proposal to establish a Reconciliation and Unity Commission, with the power to grant compensation to victims of the 2000 coup, and amnesty to perpetrators of it. ... Religion plays an important role in Fijian society. ... The Military of Fiji has always had a close relationship between the countrys churches, particularly the Methodist Church, to which some two-thirds of indigenous Fijians belong. ... The controversial Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill being promoted by the Fijian government throughout 2005 has generated enormous debate, both locally and internationally. ... The ongoing public feud between the government and the Military took a dramatic turn for the worse on 11-13 January, with reports of unusual troop and naval deployments, crisis meetings of the National Security Council, and the erection of police roadblocks. ... This coup has occurred as a continuation of the pressure which has been building since Military unrest since the 2000 Fijian coup détat and 2005-2006 Fijian political crisis. ...

Fiji's parliamentary election of March 1977 precipitated a constitutional crisis, which was the first major challenge to the country's democratic institutions since independence in 1970. Fijis election for the House of Representatives held in March 1977 was the second since independence from the United Kingdom in 1970. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ...

Politics in the years before and after independence had been dominated by the conflicting interests of the ethnic Fijian and Indo-Fijian communities. At that time, Indo-Fijians slightly outnumbered ethnic Fijians, but by holding a virtual monopoly of the ethnic Fijian vote and by making significant inroads into the Indo-Fijian electorate (taking almost a quarter of their votes in the election of 1972), Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara's Fijian Alliance had maintained its grip on power. A split in the indigenous vote in 1977, however, resulted in a narrow win for the Indo-Fijian-dominated National Federation Party (NFP). Sidiq Koya, the NFP leader, was expected to become Prime Minister. Fijians are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands. ... Indo-Fijians are people born in Fiji, but are ethnically Indian. ... Politics of Fiji Categories: Stub | Elections in Fiji | Fiji-related stubs ... The Right Honourable Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara GCMG KBE CF, (May 6, 1920 – April 18, 2004) is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. ... The Fijian Alliance, also known as the Alliance Party, was the ruling political party in Fiji from 1966 to 1987. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... Politics of Fiji Categories: Stub | Fijian political parties | Fiji-related stubs ... Sidiq M. Koya is an Indo-Fijian politician and veteran Opposition leader. ... Fiji received its independence in 1970. ...

Instead, the Governor-General, Ratu Sir George Cakobau, called on Mara to form a caretaker government, pending new elections scheduled for September. The events that led to his decision, and his reasons for it, are still mired in controversy, with different parties involved telling different versions of the situation, and conspiracy theories have abounded. What is known is that a leadership struggle immediately following the election seriously fractured the NFP. It failed to name a Cabinet for three days, and a crisis began to develop. A prominent NFP parliamentarian, Jai Ram Reddy, wondered aloud on national radio whether his party was ready to form a government, and whether it would in fact be able to do so. Ratu Mara claimed in his 1996 autobiography, "The Pacific Way", that NFP politicians had approached him and asked him to remain in office, but with an NFP Cabinet; he claimed to have refused. Fiji became a British Crown Colony in 1874, and an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth in 1970. ... Ratu Sir George Cakobau (1912-1989) was Governor General of Fiji from 1972 to 1982. ... A general election to Fijis House of Representatives was held in September 1977, to resolve the impasse of an earlier election that had been held in March. ... A conspiracy theory attempts to explain the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually political, social, or historical events) as a secret, and often deceptive, plot by a covert alliance of powerful or influential people or organizations. ... Fiji has the Westminster system - executive authority is vested nominally in a President, but exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister. ... Jai Ram Reddy (born 1937) is an Indo-Fijian statesman, who has had a distinguished career in both the legislative and judicial branches of the Fijian government. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

Some accused Reddy of sabotaging the formation of a government in order to challenge Koya for the leadership of the party, a charge that has never been proven. Other possible traitors within the NFP were also named. Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry claimed in his 2004 book, "Children of the Indus", that parliamentarians Chand Ramrakha and Irene Jai Narayan had betrayed their own leader by telling the Governor-General that not all NFP caucus members would support Koya for Prime Minister. "There is also some basis to the story that Karam Ramrakha and Irene Jai Narayan had informed Ratu George secretly that Koya did not enjoy the support of all NFP parliamentarians. Regrettably, at the hour of his triumph Koya had been stabbed in the back by his own people," he wrote (page 130). Ramrakha, now a lawyer based in Sydney, Australia, sued for defamation, saying that the claim was false and had damaged his reputation. The Fiji Labour Party is a political party in Fiji. ... Mahendra Pal Chaudhry (born 9 February 1942) is the leader of the Fiji Labour Party and currently the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Irene Jai Narayan, last name also spelt Narrayen (born 1932) is a Fijian stateswoman. ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia with a metropolitan area population of over 4. ...

Others, both in Fiji and abroad, accused the Governor-General, a high chief in the Fijian chiefly hierarchy, of deliberate bias, and took his usurping of a popular election to preserve the government of his fellow-chief (and distant cousin), Ratu Mara, as an indication that the indigenous Fijian elite would not tolerate an Indo-Fijian-led government. Proponents of this theory point to the coups of 1987 and of 2000, both of which toppled governments dominated or led by Indo-Fijians, as evidence of their belief. Whether this controversial opinion is true or not, few doubt that Cakobau was pleased to be able to reappoint the government dominated by indigenous Fijians. Ratu is a title used by Fijians of chiefly rank. ... The term House of Chiefs is a collective term used to refer to the Fijian nobility, which consists of about seventy chiefs of various ranks. ... Fiji Coups of 1987 refers to the 1987 overthrow of the government of Fiji by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka, then third in command of the Royal Fiji Military Forces. ... The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and his own resignation, possibly...

In a public statement, Ratu Cakobau defended his actions thus:

"In the recent general election, the people of Fiji did not give a clear mandate to either of the major political parties. It therefore became the duty of the Governor-General under the Constitution to appoint as Prime Minister the Member of the House of Representatives who appeared to him best able to command the support of the majority of the Members of the House. The Governor-General has not been able to act sooner as it was not until this afternoon that he was informed who had been elected leader of the National Federation Party. The Governor-General, after taking all relevant circumstances into account, has come to the firm conclusion that the person best able to command support of the majority of the Members is the Leader of the Alliance Party, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. In compliance with the Constitution and acting in his own deliberate judgment the Governor-General has accordingly appointed Ratu Sir Kamisese as Prime Minister." Overview The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fijis Parliament. ...

The September election called to resolve the impasse resulted in a landslide win for the Fijian Alliance, which remained in power for another decade.

See also: History of Fiji The timeline below shows a thumbnail sketch of Fijian history, from ancient times to the present day. ...