PRIME Minister Sitiveni Rabuka may be disrespecting the constitutional process by seeking to fast-track the Constitution Amendment Bill before Parliament has completed the required process.
This is the concern raised by National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad and Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry, who have criticised the proposed December 9 referendum as premature.
Prof Prasad said the PM’s announcement of the referendum date was inconsistent with Section 160(3) of the 2013 Constitution, which sets out the referendum process.
“The bipartisan special parliamentary committee has yet to begin its scrutiny and consultation on the draft Constitution, despite Parliament approving the committee last week,” he said.
“NFP voted for the Bill at its second reading because it wanted the public to participate in the Constitution-making process.”
However, he said the party did not support fast-tracking the process and argued that Parliament should not make decisions on the Constitution without first hearing from the public.
Prof Prasad said the public needed enough time to understand the proposed Constitution and any changes made by the parliamentary committee.
He said the process could not realistically be completed within 30 days and should instead continue after the next general election if necessary.
“The draft Constitution belongs to the people. It does not belong to the politicians.”
He also compared the current process with the development of the 2013 Constitution, which NFP, the People’s Alliance and SODELPA had opposed.
Mr Chaudhry also described the situation as a constitutional crisis, claiming the Prime Minister had acted unlawfully by announcing a referendum date before the Bill had been passed by Parliament.
The Bill is scheduled for its third reading during Parliament’s November 2 sitting.
