Fiji Government 2001

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

Capital: Suva

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

NOTE: The information regarding Fiji on this page is re-published from the 2001 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Fiji Government 2001 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Fiji Government 2001 should be addressed to the CIA.