Widely seen as the political vehicle of the traditional Fijian chiefs, the Alliance Party also commanded considerable support among the Europeans and other ethnic minorities, who, although comprising only 3–4% of Fiji's population, were over represented in the parliament (with a third of the seats before 1973, and a sixth thereafter, allocated to them).
Its greatest achievement was winning the three cross-voting seats in the western division, where the large Indian majority was expected to elect Federation Party candidates.
The rule of the Alliance Party was briefly challenged in the election of March 1977, when a split in the ethnic Fijian vote resulted in the loss of nine seats.
A constitutional crisis developed when, three days after the election, the NFP splintered in a leadership brawl, and the Governor General of Fiji, Ratu Sir George Cakobau, asked the Mara government to remain in power in a caretaker capacity.
In April 1987, the party was finally beaten by a multi-racial coalition led by Timoci Bavadra, an ethnic Fijian who nevertheless drew most of his support from the Indo-Fijian population.