THE Fiji Labour Party (FLP) has called for Fiji to adopt a constituency-based electoral system, arguing that it would strengthen accountability and improve the quality of parliamentary democracy without reviving the communal voting arrangements of the past.
Making the party’s submission to the Constitution Review Commission yesterday, FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry said the party supported retaining an inclusive electoral framework while borrowing elements from the 1997 Constitution.
“The Fiji Labour Party does not advocate a return to the full communal system of the 1997 Constitution,” he said.
“However, we believe that elements of constituency-based representation — adapted to a non-communal, inclusive framework — would significantly improve accountability and the quality of parliamentary democracy in Fiji.”
Mr Chaudhry said the current open-list proportional representation system under the 2013 Constitution had failed to establish a meaningful connection between Members of Parliament and the communities they represented.
“Fiji Labour Party has long advocated for an electoral system that delivers genuine accountability between elected representatives and the communities they serve.”
He said while the existing system provided national proportionality, it had created several shortcomings, including the absence of local constituency accountability, weak parliamentary scrutiny and MPs being elected with relatively small numbers of personal votes.
“There is no direct link between an MP and a specific geographic constituency or community.
“Voters do not have a local representative they can approach with constituency issues, and MPs have no defined area for which they are responsible.”
Mr Chaudhry said the 1997 Constitution’s Alternative Vote (AV) system offered valuable lessons.
“The AV system encouraged moderation and cross-community appeals, as candidates needed preferences from voters outside their own ethnic group to win.
“There was a clearer link between representation and local development priorities.”
