PM Rabuka to table CRC report today

Fijians will get to read the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) report and Draft Constitution today when Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka tables them in Parliament at 11.30am.

Mr Rabuka, who last presented a constitution review report to Parliament 30 years and 12 days ago, confirmed he would table the documents himself.

"I am the Minister responsible for the Constitution and Constitutional Matters in Cabinet and Parliament, and I will table this CRC," he told this masthead last night.

He said the last time he did so was when he presented the Sir Paul Reeves Constitution Review Report at Veiuto Parliament on September 11, 1996.

Speaker Filimone Jitoko called the one-day special sitting at Government's request. It is separate from the regular sitting scheduled from September 28 to October 2.

Minister for Information Lynda Tabuya had said the report could not be released before it was tabled.

Acting Attorney-General Siromi Turaga would not reveal what the report contains.

"You will have to wait tomorrow [today] for the Report and Draft Constitution to be submitted to Parliament," he told this masthead last night.

Cabinet has said tabling the report does not mean it accepts all the recommendations.

CRC chairperson Sevuloni Valenitabua revealed some recommendations when the report was handed to President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu on August 31.

The report was later tabled in Cabinet on September 9.

Key recommendations include the return of the Bose Levu Vakaturaga (Great Council of Chiefs), the Senate as the Upper House of Parliament and the Public Service Commission.

The Commission has also recommended the continued use of "Fijian" as the national identity for now.

Mr Turaga said earlier that the recommendations were not final decisions.

"It is for the government to determine," he said.

What happens next?

The Constitution Amendment Bill and National Referendum Bill are expected during the September 28 sitting.

The National Referendum Bill has not yet been passed, meaning a referendum on any constitutional change is still pending.

Under the Supreme Court's 2025 opinion, an amendment requires the support of two-thirds of Members of Parliament (MPs), followed by a referendum passed by a simple majority.

With the seat of the late National Federation Party MP Agni Deo Singh vacant until the election, Parliament has 54 sitting members.

Civil society groups have raised concerns about a plan to have a new Constitution by December 24.

The last date for the writ of elections to be issued is also December 24, and the general election must be held by February 6, 2027.

The election has not yet been called and the writ has not been issued.