Change Constitution first, says Narube

The review of Fiji’s electoral laws will be ineffective unless the 2013 Constitution is amended first, Unity Fiji party leader Savenaca Narube said during the public consultations yesterday.

Speaking at the Fiji Law Reform Commission’s public consultation at the Fiji National University, Nasinu Campus, Mr Narube revealed plans to legally challenge the 2013 Constitution.

“Unity Fiji, in partnership with similar thinking organisations and individuals, will be challenging the legal validity of the entire 2013 Constitution in the court of law before the end of this year,” Mr Narube said.

He claims the Constitution does not reflect the will of the people and is therefore illegitimate.

“We believe that the 2013 Constitution is illegal because it doesn’t reflect the will of the people.

“It was simply shut down by those who illegally overthrew the late Qarase’s government,” he said.

He questioned how the review process would link with constitutional amendments.

“How does this process link with the amendment of the Constitution? What comes first? Because some of these amendments we are talking about today (yesterday) and in your questionnaires need the amendment of the Constitution,” he said.

Mr Narube strongly criticised the current D’Hondt electoral system, describing it as “unfair and undemocratic.”

“It fails to allocate seats in Parliament according to the votes received by individuals.

“This leads to candidates who fail to win seats having higher votes than some members of Parliament,” he said.

He proposed introducing constituencies for the 2026 elections and removing the 5 per cent threshold currently required for parties to enter parliament.

“We propose that the entire electoral laws be amended to allow constituencies to be introduced in the 2026 elections,” he said.

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