‘Fijian’ national identity to be retained in Constitution (Amendment) Bill

All Fiji citizens would continue to be known as Fijians, while Indigenous Fijians could be referred to as iTaukeinivanua o Viti, under the Constitution (Amendment) Bill

The national identity provision is contained in section 6 of the Bill tabled in Parliament today for its first reading.

Bill No. 32 of 2026 seeks to revise the 2013 Constitution and provide for the proposed Constitution of the Republic of Fiji 2026.

Section 6(1) states: “All citizens of Fiji are to continue to be known as Fijians.”

However, section 6(2) provides a specific term that may be used for Indigenous Fijians.

It states: “Indigenous Fijians may be referred to as iTaukeinivanua o Viti.”

The wording means the proposed Constitution would retain Fijian as the common national identity for all citizens while expressly providing for the term iTaukeinivanua o Viti in reference to Indigenous Fijians.

The national identity provision follows section 5, which deals with citizenship and provides that all citizens of Fiji have equal status and identity.

Under that section, all citizens would be equally entitled to the rights, privileges and benefits of citizenship and equally subject to the duties and responsibilities of citizenship.

The proposed Constitution also allows Fiji citizens to hold multiple citizenship and provides for citizenship by birth, registration or naturalisation.

If enacted, the new constitutional provisions are proposed to come into force on March 31, 2028.