Both before and after Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1970, tensions between the indigenous Fijian and Indo-Fijian ethnic groups (comprising an estimated 46% and 49% of the 1987 population, respectively) continually manifested themselves in social and political unrest.

[2] Fiji’s Indian population expansion arose from several factors, including high post–World War II birth rates,[3] a reduction in the indigenous Fijian population after the 1875 measles outbreak, and large-scale migration programs initiated under British colonial rule in the late 19th century, when laborers were brought from India to farm sugar cane.

Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka, dressed in civilian clothes, approached Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra from his position in the public gallery and ordered the members of parliament to leave the building.

"[8] The commission received 860 written and 120 oral submissions, and produced a report recommending a new unicameral legislature comprising 36 Fijians (28 elected and 8 appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs), 22 Indo-Fijians, 8 General electors, 1 Rotuman, and up to four nominees of the Prime Minister.

[9][10] The Governor-General dissolved Parliament and granted amnesty to Rabuka, while promoting him to the position of commander of the Royal Fiji Military Forces.

The actions of the Governor-General were viewed with suspicion by the deposed government and Bavadra challenged Ratu Sir Penaia's decision in the Supreme Court of Fiji.

The Fijian Supreme Court ruled the May coup to be totally unconstitutional, and the Governor-General attempted to assert executive reserve power.

These negotiations culminated in the Deuba Accord of 23 September 1987, which provided for a government of national unity, in which both parties would be represented under the leadership of the Governor-General.

[15] A new constitution was ratified in 1990, in which the offices of President and Prime Minister, along with two-thirds of the Senate and a substantial majority of the House of Representatives, were reserved for indigenous Fijians.

In 2014, Rabuka admitted that Mara had told him to seize power before the coup, telling him during a golf game that "the only way to change the situation now is to throw this constitution out of the window".