Fiji held a general election in 1994, three years earlier than scheduled. This election, the second since Fiji had become a republic following two military coups in 1987, was brought about by splits within the ruling Fijian Political Party and by the withdrawal of the support of the Fiji Labour Party, which claimed that Prime MinisterSitiveni Rabuka had reneged on a deal to review Fiji's electoral system, which was heavily weighted in favour of ethnic Fijians, despite their being nearly equal in number to Indo-Fijians.
The election produced little change among the 38 seats in the House of Representatives that were reserved for ethnic Fijians and Rotuman Islanders. The Fijian Political Party won 33 seats (a gain of three), and the Fijian Association Party of former Finance Minister Josefata Kamikamica won five (one down). The Fijian Nationalist Party of Sakeaki Butadroka, which advocated the forced repatriation of all Fijians of Indian descent, lost the two seats that it had won in the previous election. The five "general electorates," reserved for Fiji's European, Chinese, and other minorities, showed similarly little change, with the General Voters Party winning four seats and the All Nationals Congress, one. There was a very significant change in the composition of the 27 Indo-Fijian seats, however. The Fiji Labour Party lost 6 of its 13 seats, with the National Federation Party winning the remaining 20. The NFP leader, Jai Ram Reddy, enjoyed a personal rapport with Rabuka; although they did not enter into a formal coalition, their negotiations led to a substantial overhaul of the Fijian Constitution which paved the way for the historic election of 1999, which brought Fiji's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, to power.
Following the 1994 election, Rabuka formed a coalition with the General Voters Party and remained Prime Minister.
The results of legislative elections held in Sweden from 1973 to 2006, as well as an overview of the proportional representation system used to choose members of the Swedish legislature are available in Elections to the Swedish Riksdag.
The results of legislative elections held in Norway from 1985 to 2005, as well as a description of the proportional representation system used to choose members of the Norwegian legislature are available in Elections to the Norwegian Storting.
Elections to the New Zealand House of Representatives and Elections to the German Bundestag describe the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) representation system used in both countries, with results of parliamentary elections held in New Zealand from 1996 to 2005 and in Germany from 1972 to 2005.
Fiji was declaired a republic in October 1987 with the establishment of a care-taker government until the promulgation of a new constitution in 1990 and the election of a civilian government two years later.
In the mean time, Fiji narrowly averted a complete economic collapse, instituted a racially biased constitution, and has continued to suffer from a lack of skilled technicians and mid-level managers as Indians left in droves fearing a second girmit; a second-class life dependent on the largess of the indigenous Fijians.
The biggest change in the election was among the Indian seats, where the moderate National Federation Party, led by Opposition leader Jai Ram Reddy, increased its parliamentary strength at the expense of the Fiji Labour Party, lead by trade unionist Mahendra Chaudhry.
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