Fijian academic says PM’s plans to change constitution ‘might take a while’

By Koroi Hawkins ¹ , RNZ Pacific ² editor

A Fijian academic believes Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s failed attempt ³ to garner enough parliamentary support to change the country’s 2013 Constitution “is only the beginning”.

Last week, Rabuka fell short in his efforts to secure the support of three-quarters of the members of Parliament to amend sections 159 and 160 of the constitution.

The prime minister’s proposed amendments also sought to remove the need for a national referendum altogether. While the bill passed its first reading ⁴ with support from several opposition MPs, it failed narrowly ⁵ at the second reading.

• READ MORE: Fiji government fails to secure support to make changes to constitution ⁶
• Other Fiji politics reports ⁷

Video: RNZ Pacific

While the bill passed its first reading ⁸ with support from several opposition MPs, it failed narrowly ⁹ at the second reading.

Jope Tarai, an indigenous Fijian PhD scholar and researcher at the Australian National University, told RNZ Pacific Waves that “it is quite obvious that it is not going to be the end” of Rabuka’s plans to amend the constitution.

However, he said that it was “something that might take a while” with less than a year before the 2026 elections.

“So, the repositioning towards the people’s priorities will be more important than constitutional review,” he said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report ¹⁰ and was authored by APR editor.