Opposition MPs vow scrutiny of Constitution Bill

Opposition Leader Inia Seruiratu, together with MPs Parveen Bala, Alvick Maharaj and Jone Usamate, will remain on the Special Select Committee on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026 and will not allow it to become a “rubber stamp” for Cabinet decisions.

Mr Seruiratu said yesterday the Government’s request for more time to table the Bill proved the Opposition’s warnings had been justified.

“For weeks, we have warned that the timetable was too compressed,” he said.

He said remaining on the committee did not mean the Opposition agreed with the Government’s proposals.

“We will not abandon our responsibility to the people simply because the process has become difficult, contentious or politically inconvenient,” Mr Seruiratu said.

He said while some parties had withdrawn from the committee, the Opposition had chosen a different path.

Mr Seruiratu said the Opposition would examine what the Constitution Review Commission had recommended and what the Government had retained, changed or left out.

He said Fijians who might never appear before the committee must also be heard. These included rural and maritime communities, women, youth, the elderly, people with disabilities and minorities.

He warned that any extension must not be used “merely to buy time to negotiate parliamentary numbers”.

“The Constitution belongs to the people of Fiji,” Mr Seruiratu said.