Fiji Constitution review report heads to Cabinet as Rabuka urges calm

Fiji’s Constitution Review Commission has handed its final report and Draft Constitution to the country’s leaders but the public will have to wait and see what it contains.

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka is urging Fijians to remain calm as the report moves to Cabinet for consideration.

“I want to urge all Fijians to remain calm...The Commission has completed its work and presented its recommendations. These are recommendations, not decisions of the Government,” Rabuka stated.

He said Cabinet will now consider the proposals before deciding what happens next.

The Acting Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Siromi Turaga, says the Prime Minister will table the report in Cabinet before it moves to Parliament through the appropriate constitutional and Government processes.

He also says the report cannot be released publicly at this stage and will be made available in due course.

Constitution Review Commission Chair Sevuloni Valenitabua hands over their report to President Rati Naiqama Lalabalavu. Photo/Fiji Government

“Given the importance of this process, it is essential that we allow the appropriate constitutional and Government processes to take their course,” Turaga said.

“The public and stakeholders are encouraged to avoid speculation about the contents of the Report or its possible outcomes until it has been properly considered.”

The Commission's work follows concerns about what the Supreme Court identified as democratic deficits in Fiji’s 2013 Constitution.

Members of the Constitution Review Commission with the President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu and the First Lady Emily Lalabalavu. Photo/Fiji Government.

Commission Chair Sevuloni Valenitabu says the review was based on submissions and consultations from across the country.

“The Review Report will show the extent of the inquiry undertaken by the CRC, the purview of the subjects of the submissions made to the Commissioners, and the recommendations which had their respective genesis from those submissions.”

The Commission received 1,220 submissions, including 832 individual and 388 joint submissions. Face-to-face consultations involved 3,873 people.

Valenitabua says the Draft Constitution was developed from those recommendations and is intended to guide Fiji forward.

“The Draft Constitution is part and parcel of the CRC’s recommendations,” he told the President.

“It is forward-looking, it recognises our Nation’s multiracialism; it aspires to streamline State services; and it aspires to encourage peaceful living of all ethnic groups within Fiji.

Civil society group Dialogue Fiji making their submission to the Commission in July. Photo/CRC

Key areas raised in the submission include the protection of fundamental rights, good governance, judicial effectiveness, the rights of indigenous Fijians and Rotumans, electoral reform and the future of the 2013 Constitution.

Valenitabua says the Commission recommends the return of the Bose Levu Vakaturaga; the Senate as the Upper House of Parliament and the Public Service Commission.

“It also includes the continued use of “Fijian” as the national identity with a caveat that a consultative process is to be utilised so that people of Fiji can decide what their common or national identity should be,” he said.

Rabuka has also addressed concerns over Fiji’s secular status and called for restraint in the debate.

“I have said previously that simply declaring Fiji a Christian state is not what makes us Christian,” he said.

“Our Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and other brothers and sisters must never feel that their faith, freedom or place in Fiji is threatened. They are an integral part of our nation, and their right to practise their faith freely must always be respected and protected.”

Constitution Review Commission Chair Sevuloni Valenitabua and Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. Phot/ Fiji Government

Rabuka has warned against misinformation and inflammatory comments, including online.

“I am concerned that some commentary, including from anonymous accounts and online trolls, is already attempting to create anger, fear and panic. Please do not allow misinformation or inflammatory rhetoric to divide us.”

President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu says the constitutional conversation must continue, including for people who feel their views were not heard.

“Whatever position you took, your willingness to participate matters. Democracy is strengthened when citizens care enough about their country to make their voices heard,” he says.

He says the Constitution should belong to the people, not those in power.

“Let us remember that a Constitution should not belong to a Government. It should not belong to a political party. It should not belong to one ethnic community, one province, one religion, one institution or one generation.”

President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu says the constitutional conversation must continue, including for people who feel their views were not heard. Photo/Fiji Government

The Commission received 1220 submissions by oral, virtual and online means, 832 were individual submissions, and 388 joint submissions. There were 3873 face-to-face consultations.

But independent civil society group Dialogue Fiji has previously raised concerns about the transparency of the review process.

In his July submission to the Commission, executive director Nilesh Lal said the process would need greater transparency to have legitimacy.

“The PM has said that the Constitution will reflect what ‘the people’ want. However, how can this be actually determined without a clear and transparent mechanism?”

The organisation called for submissions and participation data to be made public, among other measures

The report will now enter the next stage of consideration by Cabinet and Parliament, with the people of Fiji potentially having a further say as the constitutional process unfolds.

Watch the handover of the Constitution Review Commission report below.