| Parliament name |
Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
17 September 2014 |
| Timing and scope of renewal |
The 2014 elections were the first to be held since a military coup in 2006, which was the fourth since the country's independence in 1970. The coup was led by the Commander of the Fijian Military Forces Mr. Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama, who subsequently became interim Prime Minister. His FijiFirst party won an outright majority in the elections, taking 32 of 50 seats in the new unicameral Parliament. On 22 September, President Epeli Nailatikau swore in Mr. Bainimarama as Prime Minister. The convening of Parliament on 6 October ended an eight-year transitional period.
Two opposition parties entered Parliament: the Social Democratic Liberal Party (Sodelpa, 15 seats) and the National Federation Party (NFP, three). In all, eight women were elected. The Sodelpa and the NFP, along with three other parties that failed to pass the 5-per-cent threshold to win parliamentary representation, contested the election results, claiming voting irregularities. A group of some 90 international observers said the elections were "credible".
During the election campaigning, FijiFirst ran on the interim government's record, citing economic growth and lower personal and corporate and taxes. Sodelpa, led by Ms. Ro Teimumu Kepa, promised to work for peace, stability and economic prosperity, adding that Fiji's progress must be founded on "the rule of law, parliamentary democracy, equity, and social justice for all our people". NFP leader Mr. Biman Prasad presented Vision 2030, promising to reach a standard of living equal to that of New Zealand by 2030.
In 2006, the coup leaders dismissed the government led by Prime Minister Laesenia Qarase. President Ratu Josefa Iloilo dissolved then bicameral Parliament, comprising the 71-member House of Representatives and the 32-member Senate. Parliamentary elections were initially scheduled for March 2009. However, in June 2008 Mr. Bainimarama said they would be postponed, due mainly to delays in reforms to the electoral system. He subsequently announced that the elections would be held in 2014, under a new constitution. In April 2009, the Appeals Court ruled that the dismissal of Mr. Qarase and his cabinet and the dissolution of parliament were "unlawful and in breach of the Constitution" and ordered President Iloilo to appoint a new prime minister. The President instead repealed the 1997 Constitution, dismissed the judges and re-appointed Mr. Bainimarama as interim Prime Minister. The latter announced that new elections would be held under a new constitution. In November 2009, Mr. Nailatikau was sworn in President, succeeding Mr. Iloilo who had retired in July.
In August 2013, the interim government published the final version of the new Constitution, which was signed into law by President Nailatikau the following month. In March 2014, Mr. Bainimarama resigned as head of the military to run in the parliamentary elections in which Fijians over 18 old, instead of 21 previously, were able to vote. The new Parliament will serve a four-year term, instead of five years previously. |
Date of previous elections: 6 & 13 May 2006
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 5 December 2006 (by a coup)
Timing of election: Delayed elections
Expected date of next elections: September 2018
Number of seats at stake: 50 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 247 (203 men, 44 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 17.8%
Number of parties contesting the election: 7
Number of parties winning seats: 3
Alternation of power: N/A*
*The previous government was ousted by a coup.
Number of parties in government: 1
Names of parties in government: FijiFirst
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 6 October 2014
Name of the new Speaker: Ms. Jiko Luveni (FijiFirst) |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 17 September 2014 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
591'101
496'364 (83.97%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% of votes |
|
|
| FijiFirst |
|
|
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|
|
|
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| Social Democratic Liberal Party (Soldelpa) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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| National Federation Party (NFP) |
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|
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| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total of seats
|
|
|
|
|
| FijiFirst |
32
|
|
|
|
|
| Social Democratic Liberal Party (Soldelpa) |
15
|
|
|
|
|
| National Federation Party (NFP) |
3
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
42
8
16.00%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
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| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
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| Comments |
Eight women were elected in the 2014 elections. One of them, Ms. Jiko Luveni, vacated her parliamentary seat, upon her election as Speaker of Parliament in October. The number of women was thus reduced to seven out of 50 members.
Sources:
Parliament (04.08.2015)
Fijian Elections Office (30.09.2014)
http://www.electionsfiji.gov.fj/2014-election-results/
https://fijifirst.com/
https://www.facebook.com/sodelpa/
https://www.facebook.com/nfpfiji/ |
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