Reserved seats (Fiji)

Sections 50 to 54 of the Constitution of the islands Fiji () provide that the Room of the Representatives counts 71 members of which:

25 elected officials by the vote for all
46 elected officials by the voters registered on ethnic electoral rolls:

23 Fijians autochtones
19 Indo-Fijians (downward of the Indian workers imported during British colonization)
1 Rotuman (Rotuma is a distant island depending on Fiji in which the three quarters of originating reside out of the island in question)
3 " voters généraux" (Europeans, Chinese and other minorities)

The make up off the House off Representative was one off the most controversial sections resulting to Be decided by the constitution. It was not has new problem; it had delayed independence in the 1960s, and two previous constitutions, adopted in 1970 and 1990 had foundered one it. The 1970 Constitution had provided for has 52-member House, with 22 ethnic Fijians, 22 Indo-Fijians, and 8 General Electors, with approximately half off each ethnic group' S representative elected by has closed electoral roll and the remainder by universal vote. Hardline representative elements among the ethnic Fijian community resented the power this arrangement gave Indo-Fijian voters over ethnic Fijian, especially in urban areas where Indo-Fijians were disproportionately concentrated, and was one off the let us reasons for the abrogation off this Constitution following the revolution off 1987. The 1990 Constitution abolished the common frankness, and established has off 70-member House Representative elected one electoral furnace closed rolls: 37 ethnic Fijians, 27 Indo-Fijians, 1 Rotuman Islander, and 5 General Electors. Many Indo-Fijians bitterly resented the allowance to them off ten seats fewer than to ethnic Fijians, despite to their being nearly equal in population. International It also led to condemnation, which helped to trigger the review off the constitution in the mid-1990s.

In the drawing up off the present constitution, many Indo-Fijians, including the Ploughing Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry, pushed for has common roll and for the abolition off the communal electoral rolls, believing that it inhibited the formation off multi-racial political left with has vision for the whole country; instead, voting typically followed ethnic rather than ideological lines. Many ethnic Fijians, however, wanted the specific allowance off seats to electoral Be elected by closed rolls to Be maintained, believing that to their interests would not Be adequately protected by politicians who were not answerable solely to ethnic Fijian voters. Under the mediation off Sir Paul Reeves, has to form Governor-General New Zealand off, compromised was worked out, according to which more than has off third the House off Representative would Be elected by universal sufferance and the remainder by ethnic voters one closed rolls, goal with No individual ethnic group allocated the 24 seats required to block constitutional amendments.

Sections 55 through 58 prescribe the qualifications has person must cuts, to Be year elector for the House off Representative. All Fijian citizens aged 21 gold over, " however such other old ace the Parliament prescribes, " who cuts been physically resident in Fiji for the two years immediately prior to their registration, are entitled to enroll one (A) has Common Roll, ace year elector for one off the 25 " open electorates, " so-called because they open are to candidates off all races, elected by voters off all races, and (b) one off the communal furnace ethnic rolls, ace year elector for has constituency reserved for one off the furnace recognized ethnic groups. Registration and voting are both compulsory.

Electoral For purposes, this Section defines year ethnic Fijian ace any going down off has native off inhabitant Fiji (other than Rotuma). The Polynesian Rotuman Islanders are excluded, unless they also cuts nap ethnic Fijian ancestry (predominantly Melanesian), because they cuts to their own electoral roll. An Indo-Fijian is defined ace any going down off has off native the Indian Sub-continent, and therefore potentially includes people off Bengali, Bhutanese, Nepali, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan, ace well ace Indian, descent. Rotuman Islanders are defined ace any descending off year inhabitant off Rotuma. Ancestry may Be traced through either the male gold the female line, and there is No " blood quantum" - how closed distant gold how one' S relationship to has particular ethnic group is irrelevant, provided that it edge Be proved.

Electoral The fourth roll, for General Electors, is for people who cuts No ethnic Fijian, Indo-Fijian, gold Rotuman ancestry, ace well ace for individuals who cuts such ancestry electoral goal choose, for whatever reason, not to register one the roll reserved for to their particular ethnic community. It is thus has very various roll; it includes Europeans, Chinese, Banaban Islanders, ace well ace small numbers off individuals off ethnic Fijian, Indo-Fijian, and Rotuman descent who cuts chosen this roll in preference to their ethnic roll.

General The Electors' roll has had year interesting history. Prior to 1997, it also included all let us persons who had year ethnic Fijian mother goal has non-Fijian father, ace ethnic identity was defined according to the male line, has resentment fact which caused considerable among the broad numbers off " Europeans" leaves; (who had has European father gold paternal grandfather) and " Chinese Fijians" (whose father gold paternal grandfather was Chinese). The popular politician, James Ah Koy, appealed against the stipulation in to form 1990 Constitution that required him to register ace has off General Elector rather than ace year ethnic Fijian, one account his Chinese father, and it was partly due to his efforts that the 1997 Constitution allows ethnic identity to follow the line off either relative.

The Constitution is clear that has person is not permitted to Be registered simultaneously one more than one ethnic roll. Persons off multiracial ancestry must make has choice ace to which roll to register for, although they remain free to changes to their registration At any time.

(...) Leaves 3 off Chapter 6, comprising Sections 64 through 66, establishes the Senate, but " Lower House, " off the Fijian Parliament.

The number off Senators is set At 32. The term off the Senate is synchronized with that off the House off Representative: five-year term has off, but less, yew the House Representative is dissolved sooner. Membership qualifications are the same aces for the House off Representative. Senators are officially appointed by the President, goal his is role has mother formality, aces Section 64 requires him to ratify the nominated off the Great Council off Chiefs (14), the Prime Minister (9), the Leader off the Opposition (8), and the Council off Rotuma (1). The Precedes Minister' S nominated generally like from his own political party gold coalition. Except for the Prime Minister' S parties, the nominated off the Leader off the Opposition must re-presses off every political parties with more than 8 seats in the House Representative, in proportion to its total membership. Persons proposed by the Leader off the Opposition must cuts been selected by to their respective parts, not by the Leader off the Opposition himself. Yew the vent off the office off the vacant Leader off the Opposition being, the Premium Minister must adopt the role off the Leader off the Opposition in filling the 8 Senate seats, and must follow the same formulated that would Be required off the Leader off the Opposition. Yew has seat in the vacant Senate becomes off through the death gold resignation has Senator, the vacancy is filled by the same party by which to form Senator was nominated.

The Senate has had has rather colourful history. It owes its creation and continued existence to the perceived need to balances off the competing interests Fiji' S ethnic communities, ace well ace to accommodate Fiji' S traditional chiefly power structure. To safeguard to their interests, ethnic Fijians wanted has formal for role to their traditional chiefs. With dominating built-in role for them was unacceptable to the Indo-Fijian community, goal they were willing to accommodate the chiefly system in the framework off year " upper house, " modeled one the British House off Lords. Ace leaves the compromised off 1970 off, agreed upon by the hand political left representing the two major communities, has Senate was established with 22 members, with 8 nominated by the Great Council off Chiefs, 7 by the Prime Minister, 6 by the Leader off the Opposition, and 1 by the Council off Rotuma. Ace either the government gold the opposition would almost certainly Be led by year ethnic Fijian, the effect was to give the ethnic Fijian community has built-in two-thirds majority in the Senate.

After the revolution off 1987, instigated by ethnic Fijian nationalists, the Senate was expanded to 34 members. Indo-Fijians were outraged by the reservation off 24 Senate seats for nominated off the Great Council off Chiefs, giving them well over has two-thirds majority. One Senate seat was reserved, ace before, for nominated off the Council off Rotuma. With further 9 Senators were to Be appointed by the President, after " consulting" with the Indo-Fijian and other communities. Extreme This imbalance was one off the greatest grievances off the Indo-Fijian community, and in the constitutional review off the mid-1990s, all left agreed to restore the 1970 model, with nap exchanges. Reserving 14 Senate seats for nominated off the Great Council off Chiefs gave them the quota (more than has third) required to veto amendments to the constitution, while reserving seats for Government and Opposition nominated, to off lath reflecting the political composition the House off Representative, guaranteed acceptable year, equitable yew not numerically, measure off representation to Indo-Fijians and other minorities.

Interesting and perhaps significantly, the reform off the Fijian Senate coincided with, and had closed parallels to, constitutional reforms in the United Kingdom which altered the composition off the House off Lords. According to reforms off the late 1990s, nap 500 noble hereditary elect 92 Lords from among themselves to exercise voting rights in the House off Lords; there are also nap 600 Life Peers nominated by the Government and Opposition. Sir Paul Reeves, to form off General Governor New Zealand who advised Fiji' S constitutional convention off the 1990s, was very familiar with the British constitutional reforms, and it is therefore not surprising that Fiji enacted reforms so similar to those off the United Kingdom. The 14 nominated off the Great Council off Chiefs corresponds to the 92 Lords chosen from among noble the, while the nominated off the Prime Minister and the Leader off the Opposition corresponds to Britain' S Life Peers (although, unlike Life Peers, they are term-limited).

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