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Fiji

Monthly Event Reports

July 2023 | Parliament weakens restrictions on registration

Fiji’s parliament passed a bill allowing voters to register using the name by which they are commonly known on 11 July, overriding a 2021 law that required voters to register using a name that matched their birth certificate. The previous law was criticized as discriminating against women who took their spouse’s surnames with marrying, as it required them to legally change their name on their birth certificate in order to register to vote.

May 2023 | Great Council of Chiefs re-convened after 16 year suspension

The Great Council of Chiefs (GCC) re-convened for the first time after 16 years of suspension on Bau Island. Established by the British colonial rulers as an advisory body in 1876, it was suspended in 2007 by then-prime minister Frank Bainimarama, who accused it of interfering in politics and inciting racial tension – the body is only open to members of the hereditary iTaukei aristocracy and not Indo-Fijians or other minorities. Bainimarama suspended it by decree in 2012. The coalition government has says the reconvened GCC will be an advisory body to safeguard, collaborate and promote inclusivity across all Fijian ethnic groups.

April 2023 | Parliament repeals Media Industry Development Act

On 6 April, the Fijian Parliament repealed the Media Industry Development Act (MIDA), a decree passed by the then-military government in 2010. The MIDA was criticized by journalists and media rights groups as a tool to harass and intimidate critical journalists and a “noose around the neck of the media industry and journalists.” Repealing the MIDA had been a major campaign promise of Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and was welcomed by Fijian journalists and international press freedom advocates.

February 2023 | Fiji opposition leader Bainimarama suspended from parliament for three years

On 17 February ex-Prime Minister and opposition leader Frank Bainimarama was suspended from parliament for three years for sedition and insulting the president and ordered to apologize to the president and the public. The sentencing followed a previous parliamentary session in which Bainimarama criticized Fijian President Wiliame Katonivere for supporting the new government and accused him of having failed to uphold the constitution. Bainimarama, who ruled Fiji for 16 years after seizing power in a military coup, lost power in a national election in December, and since then the new government has taken steps to marginalize or remove officials appointed by Bainimarama. Although legal, the lengthy suspension is unprecedented in Fiji, with analysts noting both Bainimarama’s history of undermining democracy in Fiji and the uncertain consequences of removing one of the country’s most influential politicians from politics.

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GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
902 900
System of government
Parliamentary system
Head of government
Prime Minister Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka (since 2022)
Head of government party
The People's Alliance
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
19.6%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2022
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
3.11
Head of state
President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere
Selection process for head of state
Indirect election (assembly)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
06/11/2019
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
85.54%
Population Tooltip
902 900
System of government
Parliamentary system
Head of government
Prime Minister Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka (since 2022)
Head of government party
The People's Alliance
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
19.6%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2022
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
3.11
Head of state
President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere
Selection process for head of state
Indirect election (assembly)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
06/11/2019
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
85.54%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
State Party
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
State Party
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rights
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rule of law
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Participation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024

Global State of Democracy Indices

Hover over the trend lines to see the exact data points across the years

Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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