THE Constitutional Review Commission has recommended that Fiji’s current Parliament framework be replaced by a House of Representatives and a Senate.
Outlining its recommendation for the amendment of Chapter 3 of the 2013 Constitution, the CRC report explained the current system was “designed for a unicameral system and the single national constituency”.
“Introduce an MMP (Mixed Member Proportional) electoral system, combining 26 constituency-based seats and 15 proportional party-list seats.
“Under this proposal, the ratio of electorate seats to list seats is 63:37.”
The commission also called for the introduction of provisions for a caretaker government and to enhance the predictability of election dates by specifying the term of Parliament and restrict major electoral law changes nine months before the end of a Parliament term.
“Establish a smaller 60-seat Parliament (with) 41 members in the House of Representatives and 19 in the Senate.
“Minimise partisan appointment of Senate seats by reducing political appointments (nominees from the PM and Opposition Leader, including the BLV), and requiring appointees to be non-partisan, respected individuals from across Fiji society, reflecting the country’s diversity, including women and youth.”
The report also called for the establishment of an independent Constituency Boundaries Commission to consider the need to redraw boundaries after every census.
The report was tabled yesterday by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka during a special sitting of Parliament.
