Fijian general election, 2009

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section contains information about a forthcoming election.
Content may change dramatically as the election approaches.

Fiji
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Fiji

Government Executive President Ratu Josefa Iloilo Vice-President (vacant) Interim Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama Cabinet Attorney-General Leader of the Opposition Legislative Parliament Senate House of Representatives Speaker Local government Municipal elections 2002 2005 Former institutions Queen of Fiji Governor Governor-General Chief Minister Executive Council Legislative Council Constitution Preamble 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Great Council of Chiefs Chairman, G.C.C. Ovini Bokini (suspended) Frank Bainimarama (self-appointed) Political parties Electoral system Voting Constituencies Open Communal National Elections Parliamentary (2006, *2009) Presidential (2006) Foreign relations* Diplomatic missions
Other countries · Atlas Politics Portal view • talk • edit

General elections will be held in Fiji in March 2009.^[1]

After the military coup that occurred on 5 December 2006, it was announced that elections would be held "hopefully in 12 months, two years" by the new interim prime minister Jona Senilagakali.^[1] Later it was made clear that none of the ministers in the interim government would be allowed to contest the elections.^[2]

On 29 January 2007, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, the coup leader and now the interim Prime Minister (having formally replaced Senilagakali on 6 January 2007) announced that the next election would be around five years away.^[3] He informed a visiting regional delegation on 30-31 January that elections would have to wait until a census had been complete, a new voters' roll compiled, and boundaries of electoral districts defined.^[4] Meanwhile, interim Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum suggested using electronic voting to shorten the period of time for counting votes (currently over ten days), and thereby reduce the potential for election rigging.^[5]

Later, Bainimarama announced that the election system would be changed to abolish the race-based constituencies and that elections would be held in 2010.^[6] It was later clarified that the interim administration has no mandate for electoral and constitutional reform, as such changes have to go through the parliamentary process; as such, the 2010 election will be held under the current race-based system, but Bainimarama stated he wished that the next government change the electoral system.^[7] In mid-June 2007, the Bainimarama gave in to demands from the European Union, Australia and New Zealand to hold polls by 28 February 2009;^{[8] [9]} he also requested assistance with election preparations.^[10]

The deposed PM Laisenia Qarase stated he would contest the elections.^[11]

By contrast, Bainimarama has said that he has no intention of taking part in the election ^[2].

In March 2008, responding to regional pressure for concrete evidence of his commitment to hold elections in 2009, Bainimarama argued:

“Elections are central to democracy but they are not always, on their own, a magic or quick-fix solution. How can an election, on its own, make a difference when it is based on divisive and race based communal electoral arrangements? How can an election, on its own, solve the deep differences that our constitution has perpetuated between the different races in our country? Unless there are fundamental reforms, how can an election succeed where it will take us straight back to the grimy old politics of self interest, cronyism and scam mongering?”^[3]

In April 2008, Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry stated that it is necessary to complete and implement the People's Charter for Change and Progress before any elections are held.^[4] In May, Commodore Bainimarama stated that elections would not be held in March 2009 unless politicians agreed to the Charter.^[5]

Bainimarama has stated that Qarase's Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua party will be authorised to take part in the election, but that, if elected, Qarase will have to abide by the People's Charter. He will not be authorised to introduce or re-introduce policies -such as the Reconciliation, Tolerance and Unity Bill- which Bainimarama perceives as racist. The commodore has warned Qarase publicly that doing so would result in a new coup: "If you do it, I'll remove you."^[6]