All government Members of Parliament have been instructed not to travel during the next sitting of Parliament to ensure the Coalition has the numbers to pass key legislation.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka made the comments when asked about support for legislative reforms, including the Constitution Amendment Bill, during an interview with the media outside the FHL Tower yesterday.
“We’ll have to master our numbers,” Mr Rabuka said.
“At the moment I’m asking all the members on the government side not to travel. I’ve asked all government MPs not to travel and to be present right through the sitting, beginning next week – starting on Monday.
“It’s very important for us to be all present in all sitting days.”
Mr Rabuka made the remarks ahead of next week’s Parliament sitting.
He said Fiji does not yet have a referendum system in place but confirmed that one will be required for constitutional changes.
“We don’t yet have a referendum system in place.
“That’s one of the things that will have to be brought in – and that is because amendments require a referenda. We do not know whether we will put all the amendments together and we put it out to the people to vote on in the referendum that is going to be run.”
The Supreme Court ruled that any amendment to Fiji’s 2013 Constitution must be approved by a two-thirds majority in Parliament and a simple majority of voters in a referendum, replacing the previous, virtually impossible threshold requiring three-quarters support of all registered voters.
Parliament convenes on Monday.
