FIJI should consider adopting a bicameral parliamentary system with a House of Senate and a House of Representatives.
National Federation Party (NFP) assistant general secretary, Bimal Prasad Chaudhry, led the call, proposing a major overhaul of the country’s parliamentary structure and electoral system.
These strong public submissions were made during the Fiji Law Reform Commission’s (FLRC) consultation in Navua recently.
“We would like to see that there is a bicameral Parliament comprised of a House of Senate and also a House of Commons or House of Representatives,” Mr Chaudhry said.
“The electoral system that I am trying to propose in my submission is the mixed member proportionate legislation that they use in South Africa and New Zealand, where you have a group of members elected from single member constituencies to Parliament, and then you have a closed list from where parties which make it to the threshold are elected.”
His submission outlined a 35-member House of Senate and a 75-member House of Representatives, with a combination of members elected through constituencies and closed party lists.
He also recommended that the electoral threshold for political parties remain at 5 per cent, while proposing it be reduced to 2.5 per cent for independent candidates.
“An independent who gets 15,000 votes is getting a lot of support, even some political parties or elected MPs don’t get that many votes.
“Such candidates often represent specific ideas or issues. If they are unable to meet the threshold, we are shutting the door on alternative voices.”
Every other speaker at the consultation echoed the call for a House of Senate.
