Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Suva (on Viti Levu)
geographic coordinates: 18 08 S, 178 25 E
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*,
Western
Independence:
10 October 1970 (from UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, second Monday of October (1970)
Constitution:
enacted on 25 July 1997 to encourage multiculturalism and make
multiparty government mandatory; effective 28 July 1998
Legal system:
based on British system
Suffrage:
21 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda (since 18
July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE (since 10
September 2000)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the
members of Parliament and is responsible to Parliament
elections: president elected by the Great Council of Chiefs for a
five-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister
appointed by the president; election last held 8 March 2006 (next to
be held in 2011)
election results: Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda elected president
by the Great Council of Chiefs; percent of vote - NA
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (32 seats; 14 appointed
by the president on the advice of the Great Council of Chiefs, 9
appointed by the president on the advice of the Prime Minister, 8 on
the advice of the Opposition Leader, and 1 appointed on the advice
of the council of Rotuma) and the House of Representatives (71
seats; 23 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 19 reserved for ethnic
Indians, 3 reserved for other ethnic groups, 1 reserved for the
council of Rotuma constituency encompassing the whole of Fiji, and
25 open seats; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 25 August through 1
September and 19 September 2001 (next to be held 6-13 May 2006)
election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by
party - SDL 27.5%, FLP 26.5%, MV 4.2%, NLUP 1.3%, NFP 1.2%,
independents 1.4%, UGP .3%; seats by party - SDL 32, FLP 27, MV 6,
NLUP 2, NFP 1, independents 2, UGP 1