Five years ago Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama promised the United Nations General Assembly he would introduce Fiji’s first genuine democracy by September 2014

Yesterday he stood on the same podium in New York and said: “It is my honour to inform you that with the support of the Fijian people, I have kept that promise and I return here today as the duly-elected Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji.”

He said he led his FijiFirst political movement to a decisive victory in the first election to be held under the new Constitution on the basis of equal votes of equal value.

This Constitution replaced three previous constitutions since Fiji’s independence from Britain in 1970. He said previous governments were chosen under a weighted and discriminatory formula that separated the various communities and favoured some citizens over others.

“For nearly four decades, we laboured under a system that was undemocratic, unjust and unfair. Indeed, we were a case study of a nation that was supposedly democratic and casting itself as such, but failing to meet some basic democratic standards: A common and equal citizenry, a common identity and a level playing field on which every citizen can excel.”

Feedback: nemani.delaibatiki@fijisun.com.fj