At stake in this election:  

• All 50 Parliamentary seats[i]

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Ratu Epeli NAILATIKAU (since 30 July 2009).[ii] NAILATIKAU was appointed by Chief Justice Anthony GATES[iii]
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE (since 10 September 2000). However, QARASE has been confined to his home island due to a military coup in 2009. Currently, Commodore Voreqe “Frank” BAINIMARAMA is the interim prime minister under the military regime[iv]
• Assembly: Until Adoption of Fiji’s 2013 Constitution, had a bicameral Parliament, which included the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate had 32 seats. There were 14 seats that were appointed by the president on the advice of the Great Council of Chiefs. Nine seats were appointed by the president on the advice of the Prime Minister. There were 8 seats that were appointed on the advice of the opposition leader; and 1 seat was appointed on the advice of the council of Rotuma. The House of Representatives had 71 seats. 23 seats were reserved for ethnic Fijians. 19 seats were reserved for ethnic Indians. 3 seats were reserved for other ethnic groups, and 1 seat was reserved for the council of Rotuma. There were 25 open seats and members served five-year terms.[v]
• Under the new Constitution, Fiji will have a parliamentary system.  The Parliament will comprise of 50 seats with each member serving for a five-year term.[vi]

Description of electoral system:

Prior to adoption of the 2013 Constitution:

• The president was elected by the Great Council of Chiefs for a five-year term (eligible for a second term). However, in 2007, the Great Council of Chiefs was suspended from its role in electing the president.
• In the House of Representatives, the 71 members were elected to serve five-year terms[vii]

Under the new constitution:

• The 50 parliamentary seats will be allotted through an open list system of proportional representation.[viii] There will be only one electoral district.
• According to the Constitution, all political parties and independent candidates must obtain a least 5% of all votes to win a seat in Parliament.
• The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition will each nominate one person for the Presidency. Members of Parliament then vote between the two nominations to select the President.[ix] The President holds office for three-year terms for a maximum of 2 terms.
• The Prime Minister will be the leader of the political party that has won more than 50% of the total number of parliamentary seats.[x]

Election Note:

• The election is scheduled for 17 September 2014. It comes eight years after a military coup in December 2006. In order to encourage voting, Election Day will be a national holiday.[xi] The voting age has been lowered to 18 from 21.[xii]

Political entities in this electoral race:[xiii]

• Fiji Labour Party (FLP)
  • Leader: Mahendra CHAUDHRY
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 31
• National Federation Party (NFP)
  • Leader: Biman PRASAD
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 0
• Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA)
  • Leader: Ro Temumu KEPA
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 0
• People’s Democratic Party (PDP FIJI)
  • Leader: Felix ANTHONY
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 0
• FijiFirst
  • Leader: Josaia Voreqe (Frank) BAINIMARAMA
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 0

Last election:

• The last election to the House of Representatives in Fiji was held on 6 May 2006.[xiv] Voter turnout was at 64 percent with 307,004 total voters participating.[xv] The Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) gained 44.59 percent of the vote, winning 34 seats.[xvi] Laisenia QARASE of the SDL became Prime Minister. The results can be found here. In December 2006, there was a military coup that ousted democratically elected Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE.

Population and Voter Registration:

• Population: 903,207 (July 2014 est)[xvii]
• Registered Voters: 554,566 (April 2014)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 435,327 (2014)

·         Is Fiji a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Fiji ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (28 August 1995)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 8 (following the 2014 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 90 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Fiji a signatory to CRPD: Yes (2 June 2010)

·         Has Fiji ratified CRPD: No

·         Population with a disability: 135,481 (est.)