Independence: 10 October 1970 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 10 October (1970)
Constitution: 10 October 1970 (suspended 1 October 1987); a new constitution was proposed on 23 September 1988 and promulgated on 25 July 1990; amended 25 July 1997 to allow non-ethnic Fijians greater say in government and to make multi-party government mandatory; entered into force 28 July 1998; note— the May 1999 election will be the first test of the amended constitution and will introduce open voting—not racially prescribed—for the first time at the national level
Legal system: based on British system
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA (acting president
since 15 December 1993, president since 12 January 1994); Vice
President Ratu Josefa Iloilo ULUIVUDA (since 18 January 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Sitiveni RABUKA (since 2 June
1992); Deputy Prime Minister Taufa VAKATALE (since 7 August 1997)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the
members of Parliament and is responsible to Parliament
note: there is also a Presidential Council that advises the
president on matters of national importance and a Great Council of
Chiefs which consists of the highest ranking members of the
traditional chiefly system
elections: president elected by the Great Council of Chiefs for a
five-year term; prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA elected president; percent
of Great Council of Chiefs vote—NA
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate
(34 seats; 24 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 9 for Indians and others,
and 1 for the island of Rotuma; members appointed by the president
to serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives (70
seats; 37 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 27 reserved for ethnic
Indians, and 6 for independents and others; members elected by
popular vote on a communal basis to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives—last held 18-25 February 1994
(next to be held 11 May 1999)
election results: House of Representatives—percent of vote by
party—NA; seats by party—SVT 31, NFP 20, FLP 7, FAP 5, GVP 4,
independents 2, ANC 1; note—results are for the last election before
the new constitution came into force
note: when the new constitution is applied to the upcoming May
elections, the composition of the legislative branch will change to
the following: Senate—32 seats (14 appointed by the Great Council of
Chiefs, nine appointed by the prime minister, eight appointed by the
leader of the opposition, and one appointed by the council of
Rotuma) and House of Representatives—71 seats (23 reserved for
ethnic Fijians, 19 reserved for ethnic Indians, three reserved for
other ethnic groups, one reserved for the Rotuman constituency
encompassing the whole of Fiji, and 25 open seats)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the
president
Political parties and leaders: Fijian Political Party or SVT
Lewenivanua Vakarisito Party or VLV or Christian Fellowship Party
note: in early 1995, ethnic Fijian members of the All National
Congress or ANC merged with the Fijian Association or FA; the
remaining members of the ANC have renamed their party the General
Electors' Association
International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, C, CP,
ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU,
OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL,
UNIKOM, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO