Fiji unveils new constitution

Fiji’s 98-page constitution has been unveiled this week after a seven-month delay in the notable absence of the four main registered parties, who boycotted amid claims that the briefing process lacked credibility. The new constitution contains significant changes from the draft submitted by Yash Ghai late last year. The most striking are specific provisions for the protection of Fijian land rights, which critics say could well turn out to be Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama’s ‘election manifesto’ ahead of next year’s scheduled election.  The new constitution also guarantees absolute immunity for perpetrators of all coups since 1987, while abolishing the electorates and turning the entire country into a single constituency, where every voter will get one equal vote in a proportional representation system.

Fiji’s vocal social group, Citizens’ Constitutional Forum (CCF) has called for a thorough scrutiny, while experts say the powers of the leader of the opposition have been greatly reduced, as they no longer have any say in key judicial appointments.