CALLS to completely abandon Fiji’s draft Constitution Amendment Bill have sparked a wider debate on constitutional reform, with University of Fiji vice-chancellor Professor Shaista Shameem challenging the need for a new constitution.
Speaking during public consultations on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026 in Nadi on Saturday, Prof Shameem urged the Parliamentary Select Committee to return to the drawing board.
Prof Shameem warned that previous constitutional frameworks, including those from 1970, 1997, and 2013, brought nothing but instability to the nation.
“Our recommendation is that we should abandon this draft,” she said.
“Abandon it, don’t do it, you haven’t given us good enough reason to say why we should have it.”
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka defended the Government’s push for constitutional reform, pointing out that several countries govern effectively without a formal supreme constitution.
“We know that there are six countries in the world that close to Fiji that do not have a constitution and they rule with the laws that they pass in their own parliament,” he said.
