A serious constitutional gap in the Coalition Government’s Draft Constitution 2026 could trigger a legal crisis and leave the country without a sitting Parliament if the new supreme law is brought into force at the wrong time, an independent legal analysis has revealed.
In an analysis published by the Centre for Democracy and Dialogue (CDD), CEO Nilesh Lal addresses growing public speculation over whether the proposed draft could be used to delay the 2027 general election.
“There has been considerable speculation about whether the Fiji Government Draft Constitution 2026 could allow the current Government to remain in office beyond the period by which the next general election is constitutionally due,” Mr Lal said.
He explained that a careful reading shows “there is no clear power allowing the Government simply to cancel the 2027 election and govern until 2028,” as the draft explicitly preserves Section 58 of the 2013 Constitution to keep the transitional Parliament’s maximum term capped at four years.
However, he warned of a dangerous legal circularity buried within its commencement provisions.
While Section 211(3) allows the President to declare a commencement date earlier than March 31, 2028, Mr Lal pointed out “the President’s power to commence the new Constitution early is itself only contained in the new Constitution. So how can the President use that power before the new Constitution is already in force?”
The primary danger arises if Parliament naturally expires on December 24, 2026, and the executive purports to activate the new constitution before an election writ is issued.
“Section 219 applies to ‘the Parliament in existence immediately before the commencement’.
“But Parliament has already expired. There may, therefore, be no Parliament for section 219 to transition,” Mr Lal said.
