On Christmas Eve, Fijians at home and abroad paused in their Christmas preparations to watch the country’s newly-minted parliamentarians vote for their new Prime Minister.
It followed days of delicate negotiations between rival coalitions and courting of the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA), which won three seats in Fiji’s 55-member house, giving them the balance of power.
In the end, former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka prevailed, with a single vote majority and the backing of his People’s Alliance Party (PAP), the National Federation Party (NFP) and SODELPA. It’s a fragile coalition, and keeping its various members united and focused on the new government’s ambitious work program will be a challenge.
A glitch in the system
The scheduling of Fiji’s general election for December 14th raised concern that voter turnout would be adversely affected. And indeed, up until the last hours of voting day, it appeared that the turn out would be very poor. But after a last-minute appeal to voters to head to polling stations, the Supervisor of Elections said 68.3% of registered voters cast their ballots, which was higher than the 2018 polls.
While the Multinational Observer Group (MOG) said it saw no irregularities in the polls, a ‘glitch’ in the voting results app during the counting of provisional results, created distrust in a process that some commentators and political parties were already deeply sceptical of. In a series of media conferences between unlikely allies; the PAP and NFP coalition, Fiji Labour Party’s Mahendra Chaudhry and Unity Fiji’s Savenaca Narube, called for a halt to counting until an “urgent forensic audit of the electoral system” was undertaken. They also questioned treatment of their agents in the counting centre and raised a number of other concerns.
Separately, PAP leader Sitiveni Rabuka called for military intervention “under their responsibilities from Section 131. 2. of the 2013 Constitution” which states “It shall be the overall responsibility of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces to ensure at all times the security, defence and well-being of Fiji and all Fijians”. RFMF Commander Major General Jone Kalouniwai declined to act upon this call for action.
As the final count progressed and it was clear no one party would gain enough votes to form a government alone, these concerns became less acute, as parties’ attention switched to coalition building.
Coalition by the slimmest of margins
Ahead of the elections, the entry of several new political parties suggested there would be increased fragmentation of the vote as people were presented with more options, and the likelihood that a coalition would be necessary to form government. Incumbent Voreqe Bainimarama’s FijiFirst party gained the most votes of any single party in parliament (42.55%), however the majority of the electorate voted for change. Unity Fiji’s Narube and the FLP’s Chaudhry, failed to secure a seat in parliament, despite pulling the sixth and seventh highest number of individual votes, as their parties failed to reach the 5% threshold required to enter parliament. It meant those votes, and those for other minor parties, did not count towards the final makeup of government.
That left FijiFirst and the PAP/NFP coalition deadlocked on 26 seats each at the end of counting. SODELPA, with its three deciding seats, invited the parties to present their coalition proposals to its leadership. On December 20, after a long day of negotiations, SODELPA announced it was joining in coalition with PAP and the NFP. There were wild scenes of celebration in central Suva, centered around the PAP headquarters. However those festivities were short lived, when it became evident that there was a dispute over the composition of SODELPA’s management board, and that vote was voided.
Several days later on December 23, SODELPA met both sides once more, heard their submissions and voted a second time. Once again, they opted to go with the PAP/NFP coalition, by a margin of 13 votes to 12.
The President of SODELPA’s youth wing, Ben Daveta said, “We have to choose between perhaps two devils in the People’s Alliance and FijiFirst. Of course we know FijiFirst consists of a group of people that was formed after the military government overthrew our founding leader, the late Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, and the other which consists of a group of people which literally brought in a lot of damage to the party to the extent that some of them wanted to destroy SODELPA. So we are stuck with these two, but as we see, looking at the numbers and the polls, people wanted change.”
The President summoned parliament and on Christmas Eve, all 55 members were sworn in, and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, Prime Minister and Opposition leader elected. Despite the coalition to form government, one of its members voted with FijiFirst. The ballot was conducted in secret, and the papers shredded on the floor of the house immediately after the vote, so the identity of that dissenter is unproven. Nonetheless, the narrow margin of the votes (28 in favour of Rabuka as Prime Minister, 27 in favour of Bainimarama) illustrates the challenges ahead for the Coalition government.
Celebration and catharsis
Exiting parliament after Rabuka’s ascension to the Prime Ministership, Voreqe Bainimarama thanked FijiFirst’s voters and gesturing to the house said, “this is democracy, and this is my legacy, 2013 Constitution. The two parties in PAP and NFP, the supporters of those two parties wanted the change, SODELPA has given them that change.”
Some days later, in his address to the nation, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka referred to a “great and joyful awakening” post-election.
Certainly, the result had a cathartic effect on some Fijians who took to social media to share what they described as hardships inflicted by the previous government, from travel bans to fear of speaking your mind, to professionally ruinous prosecutions by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption.
The NGO Coalition on Human Rights, which had a fraught relationship with the previous government, acknowledged “the upholding of democratic processes that have allowed the space for the parties to have discussions and make decisions moving forward without fear and intimidation, despite the obvious challenges. We are hopeful that this sets a trend of responsible and healthy debates amongst our newly chosen leaders.”
“For sixteen long years, the people have been intimidated, harassed, divided, and frightened by a dictator. Today, we wake up to this joyous Christmas morning when Fiji is free at last,” said Unity Fiji leader, Savenaca Narube, continuing, “Unity Fiji believes that the experience from this election gives us hope that the military coups and dictatorship are behind us, and Fiji can grow to be a model of truth, trust, and happiness in the region.”
To the end, there were attempts to create a sense of instability and fear in the country. Police Commissioner, Sitiveni Qiliho issued a statement following alleged stoning incidents against Indo-Fijians, “calling for calm and… urging all Fijians to respect the political process following recent political developments.” A later statement on December 22 noted “minority groups who are now living in fear following recent political developments” and said that the army had been called in to assist police “with the maintenance of security and stability.”
The decision to call in the army to assist police appeared to prompt Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police, Abdul Khan to resign. At the time of writing, no evidence of stonings or other violence has been provided by the police, with Prime Minister Rabuka noting in his address to the nation, “You totally rejected reckless attempts to create fear and disruption by spreading lies alleging racial persecution and harassment in the aftermath of the election.”
That’s not to say that there has not been ethnically-based vitriol displayed on social media. Supporters of the new government, and coalition members themselves, have vowed there would not be a witch-hunt of supporters or alleged benefactors and beneficiaries of the previous government.
“We are not going to be vindictive. Let’s look out for each other, help one another and love each other as we move forward together,” the new Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management, Sakiasi Ditoka told staff members of the Ministry.
However, the Police Commissioner’s professional future is unclear. The new Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration, Pio Tikotikodua, tweeted that he had invited Commissioner Qiliho to resign, citing “concerns on matters of confidence.” Qiliho has reportedly indicated that he “prefers the process that goes through the Constitutional Offices Commission. “I respect that, and we will let the law take its course,” the Minister stated.
Ministerial appointments: spreading the load
The new government has 19 Ministers and ten assistant ministers, prompting the Prime Minister to say, “Cabinet is larger than I initially planned. Some of you will be concerned about the cost. I confirm that in addition to the current 20% reduction imposed since March 2020, I am proposing a further cut in the remuneration for all Parliamentarians.
“I considered it necessary to appoint 10 Assistant Ministers to provide additional ministerial power needed for the enormous job of putting things right in virtually all aspects of our nation’s life.”
While Rabuka references workload as a justification for the large cabinet, giving every MP of the coalition a task, means that he is creating shared responsibility for government’s decisions and work program.
The vastly expanded cabinet is a reminder of the large number of portfolios concentrated in a few hands in the previous government. Former Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, who has described the cabinet as ‘lavish’, held six portfolios during the previous government’s tenure.
The new government has reinstituted several ministries not seen for many years, including a Ministry of Multi-ethnic Affairs. Rabuka also has three deputy Prime Ministers—one from each coalition partner—PAP’s Manoa Kamikamica, the NFP’s Professor Biman Prasad, and SODELPA’s Viliame Gavoka. “The manifestos of the three coalition partners are broadly similar. Our arrangement for government draws on the principles of mutual respect and cooperation,” Rabuka stated in his address to the nation.
Under the coalition agreement, all government MPs are to support Rabuka in any vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister, and support any government bills requiring a vote in parliament.
His predecessor and now opposition leader, Voreqe Baimimarama, has referred to the coalition as a “three uneven legged stool government”. The new government, and all those working behind the scenes in support of the new administration, will be hoping those three legs remain firmly planted and provide a stable foundation for a full four-years of government. It is clear that will not be an easy task.
The new government’s priorities
In his first ‘Address to the Nation’, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka undertook that his government would:
- Convene a ‘great citizens’ assembly’ to seek ideas from a wide cross section of Fijians on building a “better, more prosperous and happier nation”;
- Establish specialist reviews relating to the Constitution and legal reform, the economy, defence and national security, and “a forensic examination of the spending of the FijiFirst government”;
- Review investments in land, especially the large areas administered by the i-Taukei Land Trust Board (iTLTB);
- Study contentious laws to determine whether they should be repealed or amended;
- Enquire into the overall financial strength of the Fiji National Provident Fund and the impact of some of its decisions on individual members and pensioners;
- Study the new financial arrangement for the operations of the Lautoka and Ba Hospitals;
- Examine the disbursement of foreign aid money;
- And look into concerns about certain media outlets receiving substantial amounts of public money.
He has also cleared the way for the University of the South Pacific’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, to return to Fiji; Ahluwalia was deported by the previous government in February 2021. The new government has also undertaken to settle Fiji’s outstanding F$90 million debt to USP.
