Cracks are starting to show within Sitiveni Rabuka’s coalition government ahead of a looming general election and a potential national referendum, as the country prepares to mark its 56th anniversary on Saturday.
This follows the National Federation Party (NFP) and the Social Democratic Liberal Party (Sodelpa), both the minor partners that helped Rabuka return to power, publicly calling out the prime minister for fast-tracking a constitutional reform process.
NFP leader Biman Prasad, who said earlier that his party fully supported the joint parliamentary process to review Fiji’s proposed Constitution (Amendment) Bill to change the 2013 Constitution, shifted his stance after Rabuka pre-emptively announced a referendum date.
“We (NFP) have said all along very clearly that the new constitution, once and if it is passed and approved, the implementation of that constitution should not be rushed,” Prasad, who was one of three Fiji deputy prime ministers, said on Monday.
However, in a statement on Tuesday, he declared that the NFP “outrightly rejects” Rabuka’s attempt to fast-track the process, comparing the approach to the previous Bainimarama administration’s unilateral implementation of the 2013 Constitution.
He said Rabuka’s announcement was inconsistent with Section 160(3) of the 2013 Constitution on holding a referendum.
“This is not how to formulate a genuine, meaningful, and fair constitution for all our people,” Prasad said.
“It is now clear that [Rabuka] is pre-empting the outcome even before the bipartisan special parliamentary committee, which was unanimously agreed to by parliament last week, has met and started scrutiny and consultation with the people on the draft constitution bill.”
“The prime minister must reconsider his position and respect the people.”
Biman Prasad, left, and Sitiveni Rabuka in December 2022.
RNZ Pacific / Kelvin Anthony
The election and referendum timelines
Fiji is expected to hold elections by 6 February at the latest as the Rabuka administration’s term legally comes to an end on 24 December. Rabuka has delayed announcing an election date, previously telling RNZ Pacific that it depends on the constitutional reform process.
The prime minister prematurely announced the referendum date for 9 December after the government’s Constitution (Amendment) Bill passed its second reading last Friday. He also announced that he would write to the Electoral Commission to suspend all election-related campaigning until after the referendum.
During the crucial second reading, the government secured 38 votes (out of 53) in favour of the bill to meet the required two-thirds majority of 36 MPs needed to progress the legislation to the next stage.
The Electoral Commission has stated that it would “give the matter serious consideration” before making any decision.
“We will deliberate and consider the extent of the discretion provided under section 15(2) of the National Referendum Act 2026 that provides guidance when the discretion is activated, and whether it should be exercised, including the reasons for and against doing so and the potential impacts of either approach,” it said in a statement.
Demand for ‘constitutional order’
Sodelpa is calling on Rabuka to “immediately respect constitutional boundaries” regarding the national referendum process.
“The rule of law and constitutional order in Fiji cannot be subordinated to executive convenience or political scheduling,” Sodelpa leader Aseri Radrodro, who is also Rabuka’s education minister, said in a statement.
The party said no one was above the law and that all parliamentarians must make decisions that prioritised the Fijian people.
Some of Fiji’s leading civil society organisations have warned that the Electoral Commission cannot lawfully suspend general election campaigning at this stage.
Fiji’s opposition condemned the announcement, saying that Rabuka was “putting the cart before the horse”.
Justice Minister Siromi Turaga has defended the process, stating on Monday that the government would systematically inform the Fijian people about the bill.
But Prasad said parliamentarians cannot do a deal on the constitution behind closed doors.
He said the government must first go back to the people to ask them what they think about the constitution bill.
“That will take time,” he said.
“All our citizens must understand what the draft constitution says and what it means for them. We could never do this in 30 days.
“If this process must be finished after the next election, so be it.”
Prasad said announcing a referendum was not Rabuka’s decision, as under the law, only the president can do that.
“And only after the bill has been passed by parliament. How does the Prime Minister then expect the people to vote for a constitution they have barely seen?”
“This announcement [of a] referendum and the process is wrong. The whole point of a new constitution is to bring our people together. It is not to divide us further.”
More than 723,000 eligible Fijian voters have registered to cast their vote at the general election.
