Fiji's first constitution, implemented in 1970 at the time of independence from the UK, contained negotiated provisions to enshrine the political supremacy of the minority indigenous population.
[1] When an Indo-Fijian dominated government was elected despite these safeguards, the 1987 Fijian coups d'état took place, resulting in even tighter measures in the 1990 constitution.
Widespread Indo-Fijian dissent, coupled with a population shift back to an indigenous majority, prompted a more inclusive approach in the 1997 constitution.
Under its provisions, ethnic Fijians agreed to give up their guaranteed majority in the House of Representatives and their monopoly on the Prime Minister's office, but in return, their ownership of most of the land was written into the constitution.
The 1997 constitution was abrogated by Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who organised a counter-coup to neutralise a civilian coup d'état led by George Speight, and subsequently formed an Interim Military Government.
[6][7] In the April 2009 crisis, President Josefa Iloilo suspended the Constitution and dismissed all judges after the Court of Appeal ruled the military government from 2006 illegal.
Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase told the House of Representatives that the amendments, to which the Opposition Fiji Labour Party had agreed at the Tanaloa Talks in 2003, were necessary to allow chiefs to hold multiple positions if their subjects so wished.
These included Ro Teimumu Kepa, the Paramount Chief of the Burebasaga Confederacy, who was required to relinquish her chairmanship of the Rewa Provincial Council, which was deemed to be incompatible with her position as a member of the House of Representatives and as a Cabinet Minister.
The FLP is bitterly opposed to other government legislation, such as the Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill which may be passed with a simple majority, and it is thought that its stated intention to oppose these amendments, which require a two-thirds majority in both houses, may be a ploy to force the government to negotiate on the Unity Bill.
[10] The new Constitution would derive from the People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress, and from "extensive" consultations with political parties, non-governmental organisations and ordinary citizens.