Short facts about the government of Fiji
| Country
name: |
conventional long
form: Republic of the Fiji
Islands
conventional short form:
Fiji |
| Government
type: |
republic
note: military
coup leader Maj. Gen. Sitiveni RABUKA formally declared Fiji a republic on 6
October 1987 |
| Administrative divisions: |
4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central,
Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western |
| Independence: |
10 October 1970 (from
UK) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence Day, second Monday of
October (1970) |
| Constitution: |
10 October 1970 (suspended 1 October
1987); a new constitution was proposed on 23 September 1988 and promulgated on
25 July 1990; amended 25 July 1997 to allow nonethnic Fijians greater say in
government and to make multiparty government mandatory; entered into force 28
July 1998; note - the May 1999 election was the first test of the amended
constitution and introduced open voting - not racially prescribed - for the
first time at the national level |
| Legal
system: |
based on British
system |
| Suffrage: |
21 years of age;
universal |
| Executive
branch: |
note: armed ethnic Fijian terrorists, led by George SPEIGHT stormed the
Parliament building on 19 May 2000; ethnic Indo-Fijian Prime Minister Mahendra
CHAUDHRY and his government were held hostage for 56 days; following the
attempted coup, the Commander of the Fiji Military Forces, naval Commodore Frank
BAINIMARAMA declared martial law and dissolved the government on 29 May 2000; an
interim government, headed by interim Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE, was
appointed to serve until a new constitution was initiated and subsequent
elections held; in November 2000, Fiji's High Court upheld the 1997 constitution
and ruled that Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA remained the president; Justice Anthony
GATES concluded that MARA should recall the pre-May 19th Parliament and appoint
a prime minister to form a new government; the Fiji Court of Appeals upheld
GATES' decision on 1 March 2001; it ruled that the 1997 constitution had not
been abrogated, Parliament had not been dissolved, only prorogued for six
months, and that the presidency remained vacant since MARA's resignation took
effect 15 December 2000; President Ratu Josefa ILOILO reinstated QARASE's
interim government as the caretaker government and elections were scheduled for
August 2001; approximately 23 fluid political parties are currently jockeying
for power
chief of state: President Ratu Josefa ILOILO (since NA
2000); Vice President Jope SENILOLI (since NA 2000)
head of
government: Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE (since NA 2000); Deputy Prime
Minister Epeli NAILATIKAU (since NA 2000)
cabinet: Cabinet
appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament and is
responsible to Parliament; note -there is also a Presidential Council that
advises the president on matters of national importance and a Great Council of
Chiefs which consists of the highest ranking members of the traditional chiefly
system
elections: president elected by the Great Council of
Chiefs for a five-year term; prime minister appointed by the
president
election results: Ratu Josefa ILOILO elected president
by the Great Council of Chiefs; percent of vote -
NA% |
| Legislative
branch: |
bicameral Parliament consists of the
Senate (32 seats; 14 appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs, nine appointed by
the prime minister, eight appointed by the leader of the opposition, and one
appointed by the council of Rotuma) and the House of Representatives (71 seats;
23 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 19 reserved for ethnic Indians, three reserved
for other ethnic groups, one reserved for the council of Rotuma constituency
encompassing the whole of Fiji, and 25 open; members serve five-year
terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 11 May
1999 (next to be held NA May 2004)
election results: House of
Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Fiji Labor
Party 37, others 34 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by
the president) |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Fiji Labor Party or FLP [Mahendra
CHAUDHRY]; Fijian Nationalist Federation Party or NFP [Singh RAKKA]; Fijian
Political Party or SVT (primarily Fijian) [Maj. Gen. Sitiveni RABUKA]; National
Federation Party or NFP (primarily Indian) [Jai Ram REDDY]; United General Party
or UGP [David PICKERING] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| International organization participation: |
ACP, AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO,
G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Salaseini
Lelelvawalu VOSAILAGI
chancery: Suite 240, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202)
337-8320
FAX: [1] (202)
337-1996 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Osman M. SIDDIQUE
embassy: 31 Loftus
Street, Suva
mailing address: P. O. Box 218,
Suva
telephone: [679] 314466
FAX: [679]
300081 |
| Flag
description: |
light blue with the flag of the UK in
the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Fijian shield centered on the outer half
of the flag; the shield depicts a yellow lion above a white field quartered by
the cross of Saint George featuring stalks of sugarcane, a palm tree, bananas,
and a white dove | Source: World Factbook |
