A person who has held political party office or contested an election within the previous eight years would be barred from being nominated as Fiji’s President under the proposed 2026 Draft Constitution.
The draft sets out new qualification requirements for the presidency as well as a new Presidential Appointment Commission responsible for selecting the Head of State.
To qualify, a nominee must be a Fiji citizen who has had a “distinguished career” in national or international life, whether in the public or private sector.
The nominee must not currently belong to or hold office in a political party and must not have held political party office or been an election candidate during the eight years preceding the nomination.
A person would also be ineligible if they are a candidate for another State office or have at any time been convicted of an offence carrying a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more.
The draft would establish a seven-member Presidential Appointment Commission comprising three nominees of the Bose Levu Vakaturaga, the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, a Fiji Council of Churches nominee and an Interfaith Search Fiji nominee.
Members of the Commission could nominate presidential candidates individually or jointly.
Once the Commission decides who will be appointed President, it would inform the Speaker, who would publicly announce the appointment.
The Commission would operate as a part-time body, convening when there is a presidential vacancy, a resignation or a question concerning the removal of the President.
The draft also allows a person holding public office to be nominated without first resigning. However, appointment as President would automatically terminate that person’s service in the previous office.
The provisions form part of the Draft Constitution released with the Constitution Review Report and remain proposals rather than law.
