So finally the deceitful, corrupt, scandal-ridden Coalition government – through its lame-duck Acting Attorney General, Siromi Turaga – comes clean about its timetable to change the 2013 Constitution.
It will happen before the coming election which is due, at the very latest, on February 6, 2027. Which means either of two things: 1/ The changes will be fast-tracked and implemented before the election takes place . Or 2/ The Coalition plans to delay the election, perhaps for another year, until it gets the changes it wants.
The pressure is now on the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, to confirm what Siromi Turaga is saying. But let’s be clear first what the Supreme Court ruled last August has to be done before any changes are made, having confirmed the 2013 Constitution as the supreme law of Fiji and rejected the attempt by the People’s Alliance to restore the racially-weighted 1997 version.
1/ Any changes have to be approved by two thirds of the parliament. This is relatively straightforward in that the Coalition already has the numbers to do so, having bought off enough members of the opposition with cabinet positions.
2/ There has to be a referendum of all registered voters in which a simple majority votes for change. This isn’t simple in practice at all. It means that after any changes are passed in the parliament, the Elections Office has to hold a national poll to get the approval of the Fijian people for change.
As Siromi Turaga tells it, the Coalition intends to hold this referendum before the national election due at the latest in 10 month’s time. While at the same time, presumably fulfilling its promise to hold local government elections in September in Fiji’s two cities and eleven towns.
Does anyone really think this can all be done without delaying the national poll? It means three separate elections – one a referendum – before next February. Is the Elections Office even capable of delivering all of this?
In any event, delaying the parliamentary election would be contrary to the provisions of the 2013 Constitution, which allows for early elections under certain circumstances but not a late election because it happens to suit a particular government’s purposes . That would be unlawful and rightly so.
In short, there is nothing that gives any government the right to remain in power beyond four years. Though reading between the lines of Siromi Turaga’s astonishing comments to the Fiji Times, here’s what the Coalition may be planning to do without having the decency to tell us.
Could they be intending to hold a referendum on changes to the Constitution which includes a proposal for a five year parliamentary term, not four, which would enable them to delay the parliamentary election until they get what they want? How would you feel about that, Fiji? Because from what we suspect about the government’s standing in the country, all but its die-hard supporters would be horrified at the prospect.
They are certainly justified in being equally unhappy about the lies that Siromi Turaga is telling to justify constitutional change before the next election. He claims, risibly, that it was “one of the key reasons ” the Coalition government came to power.
No it wasn’t, Mr Acting Attorney General. You came to power because of the horse trading in the wake of the 2022 election. FijiFirst got the highest number of votes in that election. But the People’s Alliance and the NFP managed to persuade SODELPA to go with them, not FijiFirst, which gave you a majority on the floor of the parliament of one. Just a single vote.
So let’s be very clear. None of this constitutes a mandate from the Fijian people to change the 2013 Constitution. On the contrary. More of them voted for FijiFirst – indirectly endorsing the Constitution you want altered. And, again, you only have your current numbers in the parliament because FijiFirst imploded and you bought off ten of its former members.
So the notion that the Fijian people voted for constitutional change in 2022 is nonsense. And it is a complete bastardisation of the democratic process to pretend otherwise. You know – or should know – that the correct course of action would be for the Coalition parties to go to a fresh election seeking a proper mandate for constitutional change. But you are not going to do that because your contempt for democracy surpasses even that of your predecessors.
Instead, you intend to push through a revised constitution within a matter of months without any time for a proper national debate on the merits of change. And, worse, without telling us precisely which parts of the 2013 Constitution you want altered.
Are you intending to end the common and equal citizenry and the common identity? Are you intending to end the secular state? You and your Prime Minister continue to refuse to answer these basic questions that every Fijian has a fundamental right to know, and especially the minorities.
Once again – with these comments – the Coalition has demonstrated that it has no respect for democracy and the will of the people. It promised at the last election to govern better than FijiFirst, to be more transparent and accountable. Yet on almost every count, its performance has been worse.
It simply beggars belief that with the global economic outlook worsening by the day – and with all of Fiji’s mounting social challenges – that the Coalition is so obsessed with changing the supreme law. They have had three and a half years to do it but are so inept that they now want to cram the process into just a few months.
Priority Number One for most Fijians is to be granted their constitutional right to pass judgment on the Coalition’s performance at the ballot box within the existing lawful framework by no later than February 6. Anything else is unacceptable. And if the government continues with its deception and failure to tell the people precisely what changes it wants to make, the RFMF must fulfill its constitutional duty under Section 131 to protect the well-being of the Fijian people.
How? By insisting on their lawful democratic rights being upheld – an election held within the time frame the current Constitution prescribes. And any constitutional change AFTER that, with the various parties laying out their proposals in the election lead-up for the judgment of the people. Proper consultation instead of the current farce.
The Coalition’s lack of candour on this issue is a scandal on top of all the other scandals that have dogged its time in power, along with a level of incompetence and dysfunction that makes this arguably the worst government in the nation’s history.
We desperately need a parliamentary election before any referendum on constitutional change. And that election can’t come soon enough.
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The other big news to watch – the rogue Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, finally delivers his verdict on Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and Mohammed Saneem an unconscionable five months after their trial ended.
“Guilty” or “Not guilty”, it is going to be sensational either way. Not least because the Judge himself is also on trial.
Full coverage to come…
I don’t think they even have Referendum laws and procedures in place. They are even dropping the pretence of this being a consultative review and have clearly already decided to change it. The rush makes it obvious they have no intention of going through proper consultation and process. Favoured consultation and favoured constitution.
Shameful.
This thing (Siromi the Swine) ain’t just ugly as f*ck but also complements his ugly ass look with a dead brain.
How did this guy even make through law school? The result of affirmative action plan of Rabuka where indigenous brain dead f*ckwits like Siromi and Barbara made it through law school under the Fijian Affairs Board scholarships even though their grades are as bad as they look and speak.