The Senate of

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

was the upper chamber of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. It was abolished by the 2013 Constitution of Fiji, after a series of military coups. It was the less powerful of the two chambers; it could not initiate legislation, but could amend or veto it. The Senate's powers over financial bills were more restricted: it could veto them in their entirety, but could not amend them. The

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

could override a senatorial veto by passing the bill a second time in the parliamentary session immediately following the one in which it was rejected by the Senate, after a minimum period of six months. Amendments to the

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were excepted: the veto of the Senate was absolute. Following the passage of a bill by the House of Representatives, the Senate had 21 days (7 days in the case of a bill classified as "urgent") to approve, amend, or reject it; if at the expiry of that period the Senate had done nothing about it, it was deemed to have passed the bill.

Composition

The Senate had 32 members. Formally, they were appointed by the

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for five-year terms coinciding with the term of the House of Representatives. Constitutionally, however, the president was required to accept the nominees of specified institutions. Fourteen senators were chosen by the ''Bose Levu Vakaturaga'' (Great Council of Chiefs), though in practice it had chosen to delegate this prerogative to Fiji's 14 '' provincial councils,'' each choosing one senator. A further nine senators were chosen by the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and eight by the

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

. The one remaining senator was selected by the

Council of Rotuma The Council of Rotuma is a municipal body on the island of Rotuma, a Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealan ...

, a Fijian dependency. From among their own members, the senators used to elect a

and

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, whose roles were similar to those of the speaker and deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively. As of September 2006, the president of the Senate was Ratu Kinijoji Maivalili; the vice-president was Hafiz Khan. They were chosen in June 2006 to replace Taito Waqavakatoga and Kenneth Low, both of whom had retired from the Senate. The built-in near-majority of Fijian chiefs in the Senate gave them an effective veto over contentious social legislation, as well as constitutional amendments, provided they voted as a block, as they would almost certainly be joined by enough other senators to muster a majority. In addition, any changes to clauses of the constitution guaranteeing indigenous Fijian ownership and control of most of the land had to be approved by 9 of the 14 senators chosen by the Great Council of Chiefs, as well as by a majority in the Senate as a whole. Senators, like their fellow-parliamentarians from the House of Representatives, could be appointed to the Cabinet – the executive arm of government.

History

The Fijian Senate came into being in 1972, when the old

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

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was replaced by the

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

Parliament. The Senate was restructured twice after the original constitutional structures went into effect. From 1972 to 1987, the Senate consisted of 22 members. Appointed by the

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

on the nomination of the Great Council of Chiefs (8), the prime minister (7), the leader of the opposition (6), and the council of Rotuma (1), senators served six-year terms, with half retiring every three years. The first term of office for half of the nominees of the Great Council of Chiefs and of the leader of the opposition, three of the seven nominees of the prime minister, and the lone Rotuman senator, was for three years only, ending in 1975. The Senate was a permanent body; it was never dissolved. The Constitution was rewritten following two military coups in 1987. The Senate was expanded to 34 members appointed by the president for four-year terms, with half retiring every two years. The president appointed 24 senators on the nomination of the Great Council of Chiefs, 1 on the nomination of the Council of Rotuma, and a further 9 at his own discretion from the

Indo-Fijian Indo-Fijians () are Fijians of South Asian descent whose ancestors were Girmitiyas, indentured labourers. Indo-Fijians trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent. Although Indo-Fijians constituted a majority of Fiji's ...

and minority communities. This arrangement was in effect from 1992 to 1999. The first term of 12 of the 24 senators nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs and 4 of the 9 appointed to represent other communities was for two years only, ending in 1994. As previously, the Senate was never dissolved. Constitutional arrangements came into effect in 1997–1998, and the first Senate so appointed took office in 1999. For the first time, all senators served concurrent, five-year terms, coinciding with the term of the House of Representatives.

Membership

As of 28 September 2006, the Fijian Senate comprised the following persons:

Nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs

Nominated by the prime minister

Nominated by the leader of the opposition

Nominated by the Council of Rotuma

Notes

Source: Fiji Parliamentary website, supplemented from the Hansard records.

External links

Official website of the Fijian Senate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Senate Of Fiji 1970 establishments in Fiji 2013 disestablishments in Fiji

Government of Fiji Fiji, Senate Politics of Fiji Political organisations based in Fiji