CRC Watch: Four months to Report — What the Commission Must Address

This is a Fiji Political Review CRC Watch Briefing — a short analytical note tracking the progress of the Constitutional Review Commission. CRC Watch is published when there are significant developments in the review process

Fiji's Constitutional Review Commission has approximately four months remaining before its final report is due to the President on 31 August 2026.

The Cabinet allocated FJD $1 million to support its work. Its mandate is to review the 2013 Constitution, consult the public, receive submissions, and report its findings and recommendations to the President, before the report is presented to Cabinet and tabled in Parliament.

The Commission is now in the middle of its nationwide consultation process. Submissions have begun to surface publicly — and they reveal the fault lines that the CRC must navigate before August.

The resource ownership debate has emerged as one of the most politically charged issues before the Commission. The Chair of the iTaukei Lands and Fisheries Commission, Ratu Meli Saubulinayau, argued that Section 30 of the 2013 Constitution — which vests all minerals in the State, should be amended to recognise iTaukei ownership of minerals and natural resources, reversing what he described as a colonial legacy. The submission goes to the heart of one of the 2013 Constitution's most debated provisions.

The Great Council of Chiefs' proposals have drawn strong reactions from political parties, civil society and rights organisations — including proposals to remove gender and sexual orientation from the equality provisions. Opposition Leader Inia Seruiratu called for calm, noting that the review would produce a constitutional amendment without a coup and urging all Fijians to respect the right of every individual, group and institution to participate.

The timeline question is the Commission's most pressing constraint. CRC Chairperson Valenitabua has acknowledged the challenge of the tight deadline, warning that rushing the process could undermine both its credibility and long-term impact. "This is not just a legal exercise," he said. "It is a national one. It must reflect broad consensus, not narrow interests."

That warning is well-founded. A constitutional reform process that concludes in four months, across a country of 900,000 people, in a politically charged pre-election environment, faces a genuine tension between the deadline it has been given and the legitimacy it needs to earn.

Three questions the FPR will track as the Commission works toward its August deadline:

First — will the Commission address the FELRC electoral reform report? The Fiji Electoral Law Reform Commission completed its work in July 2025. As the Fiji Political Review reported this week, the report remains with the Acting Attorney-General and has not been released to the public or tabled in Parliament. The CRC cannot credibly recommend electoral system reform without access to that report.

Second — will the public consultation process meet the standard of substantive consent? The Commission has a legal mandate to consult. Whether that consultation translates into genuine public deliberation, rather than a record of submissions that is noted and set aside, will determine the democratic legitimacy of whatever the Commission recommends.

Third — will the National Referendum Bill be passed before or after the CRC reports? The Bill, which the Fiji Political Review analysed in its first published piece, sets the framework for how Fijians will vote on any constitutional changes the CRC recommends. Its current restrictions on public communication would limit the very deliberation the CRC's consultation process is trying to generate.

The FPR will continue to track the Commission's progress. The next significant milestone is the conclusion of nationwide public consultations and the beginning of the Commission's analysis and drafting phase — expected in June 2026.