Bill No. 32 - Fiji Political Review

By the Editor

Fiji’s first referendum: a thin margin and rules still being written

Fiji's first referendum could be held on 9 December. The path there rests on a three-vote margin in Parliament, a counting rule that sits uneasily with the Standing Orders, and campaign rules still to be written.

Vanua

Fiji's Great Council of Chiefs: More Power, Partial Daylight

Parliament has given the Great Council of Chiefs new duties to report. Yet those duties are conditional, and Bill No. 32 would soon require the chiefs' own senators to approve any change. The case for completing the paper trail is strongest now.

Policy Watch

What the Law Actually Gives the Great Council of Chiefs

Fiji's Great Council of Chiefs now has a statute of its own, and Bill No. 32 would entrench it in a new Constitution. Together, the two measures shift real power to the chiefs while leaving gaps that will be harder to close after 2028.