Universal suffrage with a common voters' roll was first proposed by the Indo-Fijian-dominated National Federation Party (NFP) in the early 1960s, but was opposed by most leaders of the indigenous Fijian community, who were fearful that a common roll would favour Indo-Fijians, who then comprised a majority of the population.
The Constitutional Commission chaired by former New Zealand Governor-General Sir Paul Reeves had recommended a total of 45 open and 25 communal constituencies, but the then-ruling Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei of Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and the opposition NFP saw the communal constituencies allocated to indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians respectively as their power base and insisted on virtually reversing the ratio.
As the fundamental faultline in Fijian politics was ethnic rather than ideological, the racially allocated communal constituencies generally followed predictable voting patterns.
Many Fijian ethno-nationalists favoured their abolition, whereas many Indo-Fijian politicians like former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, as well as parties claiming to be multiracial, argued that their number should be increased, or even that all parliamentary seats should be open.
A new constitution promulgated by the Military-backed interim government in 2013 abolished both open and communal constituencies, and instituted a form of proportional representation, with the entire country voting as a single electorate.