Fiji - February 2023

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.

Sources: Reuters, The Diplomat, The Guardian