[File Photo]
The Electoral Law Reform Commissioners are recommending a minimum of 71 seats in parliament, including seats reserved for women.
In their joint submission to the Constitution Review Commission on the electoral provisions of the 2013 Constitution, the commissioners say that they support the introduction of temporary special measures, including reserved seats, to advance the representation of women.
Women’s representation in parliament fell from 19.6 percent after the 2018 General Election to 9.1 percent after 2022, well below the regional and global averages.
The Commissioners say that the present system contains no structural guarantee for women’s participation.
They say that temporary special measures are expressly contemplated by Fiji’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and are a proportionate, time-limited response to a demonstrated imbalance.
The Commission recommends that the Constitution be drafted so as to permit such measures without their being open to challenge as discrimination.
The Commission leaves the total number of seats in Parliament to the Commission of Review and, in turn, to the legislature.
