Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says the 2013 Constitution was neither formulated nor adopted through a participatory democratic process. 11 March 2025 Photo: Parliament of the Republic of Fiji
The Fijian government has fallen short in its bid to make changes to the country's constitution.
It comes after Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka could not get the 75 percent support needed to amend the 2013 Constitution during the Constitutional Amendment Bill's second reading.
Last week, Rabuka won enough support for the bill after four opposition MPs voted in favour of the coalition government's bill.
However, on Tuesday, 40 MPs voted for the amendment, 14 voted against it, and one MP did not vote.
Rabuka required 41 votes to proceed with the changes.
The key changes that the bill sought were to remove the requirement of three-quarters of MPs and three-quarters of registered voters to pass any amendment to the 2013 Constitution.
During the debate for the bill, Rabuka said that the outcome of the vote would shape the future of the nation's democracy, land, and the lives of its citizens.
He called the bill "a moral and democratic necessity".
"The constitution is the supreme law of our land, the foundation upon which our democracy stands," he said.
"Yet, for a constitution to be legitimate, it must demonstrate the will of the people, echo their voices, embody their spirit and aspirations in its content, and reflect their dignity in shaping their future.
The 2013 Constitution, which is the country's fourth, has been widely regarded as being imposed on the people by the former FijiFirst aministration.
"It was neither formulated nor adopted through a participatory democratic process to secure the people's mandate," Rabuka said.
The vote on Tuesday means that the bill will not progress any further.
However, the country's chief legal advisor says the government will regroup and decide on the next steps.
Attorney-General Graham Leung said that the government would not abandon on its plans to amend the constitution, and seeking clarification from the Supreme Court on the issue remains an option.
"There's too much power vested in the Attorney-General. The human rights provisions are conditional, and rules like the five percent threshold to qualify for a seat in parliament disadvantage smaller political parties and independents," he was quoted as saying by local media.
Fiji's Great Council of Chiefs chairman Ratu Viliame Seruvakula told RNZ Pacific last year that reviewing the 2013 Constitution was necessary to address the root causes of problems facing the indigenous population.
Earlier this week, University of Canterbury political scientist Distinguished Professor Steven Ratuva said the Fijian government needed to ensure the changes were not driven by political emotion or specific community interests.
"It has to be based on national interests to ensure change brings unity," he told Pacific Waves.
