Elections in Fiji
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Since becoming independent of the United Kingdom in 1970, Fiji has had four constitutions, and the voting system has changed accordingly.
Suffrage and representation
The
- British subject
- Age of 21 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.
- Ability to read and write a simple sentence and sign one’s name in the Malayalam. "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 Rotumaand its dependencies."
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, non-Fijian Pacific Islanders and Chinese to vote.[1][2]
The Legislative Council elected in 1966 had 36 members. Twenty-five seats represented
- From 1972 through 1987, the House of Representatives had 52 members. Of these, 22 were allocated to indigenous Fijians and another 22 to First past the post system. In the same period, the newly established Senate had 22 members (eight nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs (of whom any three held the power of veto over changes to the country's land laws), seven by the Prime Minister, six by the Leader of the Opposition, and one by the Council of Rotuma).
- In 1992 and 1994, the House of Representatives had 70 members. Thirty-seven seats were allocated to indigenous Fijians, 27 to Indo-Fijians, one 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).
- From 1999 onwards, the House of Representatives had 71 members. Twenty-five represented open electorates; these members were elected by universal suffrage and could belong to any race. The remaining 46 seats were communal, with 23 being allocated to indigenous Fijians, 19 to Indo-Fijians, one to Rotuman Islanders, and three to General Electors. Instant run-off voting was adopted for these elections. The Senate had 32 members (14 nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs, nine by the Prime Minister, eight by the Leader of the Opposition, and one by the Council of Rotuma).
Latest elections
1966–2006
Note: The following statistics show the number of seats in the House of Representatives won by particular political parties in general elections from 1966 to 2006. 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 | - |
| Alliance Party | 27 | 33 | 24 | 36 | 28 | 24 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Fijian Association Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 11 | 0 | - |
| Fijian Nationalist Party | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei | - | - | - | - | - | - | 36 | 33 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Fiji Labour Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | 13 | 7 | 37 | 27 | 38 |
| General Voters Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 4 | - | - | - |
| National Federation Party | 9 | 19 | 26 | 15 | 22 | - | 14 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 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 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 32 | 36 |
| Independents | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 36 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 71 |
2014–2022
Note: The following statistics show the number of seats in the Parliament of Fiji won by particular political parties in general elections since 2014.
| Party | 2014 | 2018 | 2022 |
| FijiFirst | 32 | 27 | 26 |
| Fiji Labour Party | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fiji United Freedom Party
|
0 | - | - |
| HOPE | - | 0 | - |
| National Federation Party | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| One Fiji Party | 0 | - | - |
| People's Alliance | - | - | 21 |
| People's Democratic Party | 0 | - | - |
| Social Democratic Liberal Party | 15 | 21 | 3 |
| Independents | 0 | - | 0 |
| TOTAL | 50 | 51 | 55 |
See also
External links
References
- OCLC 574188389.
- ^ Singh, Surjeet (2017-02-20). "Fiji elections: 1963 Fiji Legislative Council elections". Fiji elections. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
- ^ "Vol. 37, No. 10 ( Oct. 1, 1966)". Trove. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
- ^ Singh, Surjeet (2017-02-23). "Fiji elections: 1966 Fiji Legislative Council elections". Fiji elections. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
