Fiji: ‘Trouble in the Pacific’
This CPA blog was published in April 2025 and was written by Samuel Sallybanks during his internship with the CPA Headquarters Secretariat between January and April 2025. It is part of a series on democratic progression in the Commonwealth, which you can find here.
The views expressed in this blog are provided by the author and do not reflect the view of the wider CPA membership.
The Pacific Island nation of Fiji is one of the most active members of the Commonwealth today, but it has experienced several periods of turmoil in its recent history.
Fiji has been suspended from the Commonwealth on three separate occasions: for a ten-year period between 1987 and 1997, again between 2000 and 2001, and finally from 2006 until 2014.
In all, Fiji has spent 19 years in suspension from the Commonwealth during its 55-year independence, the most of any member nation. Colonial rule left a racial divide between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians leading to an unstable democracy. As such, it has been seen that indigenous Fijians have often utilised the military to retain power.
In May 1987, Major-General Sitiveni Rabuka seized power from the newly elected Fiji Labour Party Prime Minister, Dr Timoci Bavadra.[i]
Rabuka, an indigenous Fijian, claimed his actions were to restore power to the chiefly elite, whose post-independence influence via Prime Minister, Ratu Mara (PM from 1970-April 1987) was threatened. Rabuka stepped aside but seized power again in September 1987.
On this occasion, Rabuka declared Fiji as a republic, and after protests from the Indian Government Fiji was suspended by the Commonwealth.[ii] Rabuka served under interim civilian governments (1988-89 and 1990-91) which passed the 1990 Fiji Constitution. This granted a majority of seats and reserved the office of the Prime Minister to ethnic Fijians. He later became Prime Minister in 1992.[iii]
Above: The 'old' Chamber of the Fiji Parliament (CPA Archival Photograph).
Fiji’s Parliament passed a new Constitution on the recommendation of the Reeves Commission in 1997. However, many of Reeves’ suggestions, including the provision that 45 out of 71 seats in Parliament be elected from non-racial registers, were reversed by the Parliamentary Select Committee.[iv]
Despite these concerns, the 1997 Constitution saw Fiji readmitted to the Commonwealth.[v] Two articles in the CPA’s Journal, The Parliamentarian covered reactions to the new Constitution at the time.
Unsurprisingly, Rabuka was full of praise for the new Constitution.[vi] He noted that the Prime Minister’s new constitutional duties included establishing a multi-party Cabinet with Members from every party which secured at least 10% of the vote represented. With acceptance from every party, the Fijian Government could become a ‘Grand Coalition’ and govern by consensus. Rabuka claimed that this was the traditional form of rule in Fijian culture, clearly forgetting his role in two previous coups in 1987.
Mahendra Chaudhry, Leader of the Fiji Labour Party, saw the 1997 Constitution as a missed opportunity for electoral reform.[vii] Chaudhry explained that there was no difference between the 1990 and 1997 Constitution because of the continuation of racially reserved seats.
These 46 seats (23 for Fijians, 19 to Indians, 3 General Electors and 1 to Rotuma) “[perpetuates] the feeling amongst indigenous [Fijians] that they are a special and privileged group.” Other problems included the alignment of pre-colonial boundaries with reserved seats, the under-representation of urban Fijians and the decision to retain the voting age of 21.
Opposition to the 1997 Constitution was voiced by indigenous Fijians. During this time, Chaudhry won the 1999 election for the Labour Party. In May 2000, Chaudhry was overthrown by George Speight who hijacked Parliament for 58 days.[viii] As a result, Fiji was again suspended from the Commonwealth.[ix]
Order was restored by the military and elections in 2001 saw Laisenia Qarase win power. Whilst there were doubts about the legitimacy of Qarase’s government, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) lifted Fiji’s suspension in December 2001.[x] As such, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association also readmitted the CPA Fiji Branch.[xi]
From 2002, Fiji was an active participant in several CPA events.
In 2003, Fiji hosted a CPA ‘Post-Election Seminar’, in which the Speaker, Hon. Ratu Epeli Nailatiku attended alongside 50 of the 71 Members of Parliament. Attendees took part in a CPA study on the relationship between Parliament and the Media.[xii]
A year later, Fiji held a ‘Commonwealth Workshop on Women, Development and Democracy’ with a keynote speech on ‘Gender, Development and Democracy’.[xiii]
In 2005, Fiji hosted the 51st Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Nadi, the annual conference for the CPA. The CPA Fiji Branch held a session on its provisions for a new Constitution that was widely appreciated by Members according to reports from the time.
Acting hailed the Conference as a success and stressed Fiji’s intentions were to “create an equitable and fair system of government that respects the competing needs of the country’s different ethnic groups.” [xiv]
In addition, The Parliamentarian’s Pre-Conference supplement about Fiji, featured articles by Fijian Members on constitutional questions, traditional rule, and tourism.
Above: The Fiji supplement to The Parliamentarian titled ‘Tradition and Democracy in the Fiji Islands’ was published ahead of the 51st Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference.
In 2006, following Qarase’s re-election, the CPA held a second ‘Post-Election Seminar’ with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
According to the CPA archives, both the Fijian Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition attended the opening session, with the latter attending many further sessions. Here, Members discussed institutions of government, lawmaking and Fiji’s road to peace.[xv]
Despite this democratic progression, strained relations between Qarase’s government and the military saw Commodore Frank Bainmarama seize power in December 2006.[xvi]
In response, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) provisionally suspended Fiji, hoping that Bainmarama would resign. Having failed to hold elections by the agreed March 2009 deadline, Fiji was once again formally suspended by the Commonwealth in September 2009.[xvii]
In September 2014, Fiji was readmitted to the Commonwealth following the democratic election of Bainimarama.[xviii] Since rejoining the Commonwealth in 2014, Fiji has remained true to democratic principles and has been an active member of the Commonwealth and the CPA.
References:
[i] Brij V. Lal, ‘Fiji: troubled journey of a beleaguered nation’, The Round Table, The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs and Policy Studies, Volume 110, Issue 6, (2021) 645-662
[ii] Fiji - 1987 Coup - 14 May
[iii] Fiji Islands Political Crisis: Background, Analysis, and Chronology
[iv] Lal, 655
[v] Fiji Rejoins the Commonwealth
[vi] Sitiveni Rabuka, Hon. Maj-Gen, ‘Fiji’s new system of multiparty government’, The Parliamentarian, October 1997
[vii] Mahendra Chaudhry, MHR, ‘Fiji’s Constitution Electoral reform – “Not the way it should be”, The Parliamentarian, October 1997
[viii] Lal, 655
[ix] Derek Ingram, Commonwealth Update, The Round Table, Volume 355 (2000) 311-355
[x] Derek Ingram, Commonwealth Update, The Round Table, Volume 364 (2002) 131-159
[xi] CPA Annual Report, 2002
[xii] CPA Annual Report, 2003
[xiii] CPA Annual Report, 2004
[xiv] CPA Annual Report, 2005
[xv] CPA Annual Report, 2006
[xvi] Lal, 656
[xvii] https://www.commonwealthofnations.org/commonwealth/commonwealth-membership/withdrawals-and-suspension/
[xviii] Fiji rejoins Commonwealth as a full member | Commonwealth
