Government & politics — Fiji

The Fijians called their home Viti, but the neighboring Tongans called it Fisi, and in the Anglicized spelling of the Tongan pronunciation - promulgated by explorer Captain James COOK - the designation became Fiji

• History: Several previous;
• latest signed into law 6 September 2013 Amendments: Proposed as a bill by Parliament and supported by at least three quarters of its members, followed by referral to the president and then to the Electoral Commission, which conducts a referendum; passage requires approval by at least three-quarters of registered voters and assent by the president

• chief of state: President Ratu N
• aiqama LALABALAVU (since 12 November 2024) head of government: Prime Ministe
• r Sitiveni Ligamamada RABUKA (since 24 December 2022) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among members of Parliament
• and is responsible to Parliament election/appointment process: president elected by Parliament for a 3-year term (eligible for a second term); prime
• minister endorsed by the president most recent election date: 31
• October 2024 election results: 2024: Ratu Naiqama LALABALAVU elected president (People's Alliance) 35 votes,
• Meli Tora TAVAIQIA (Fiji First) 14 votes 2021: Ratu Wiliame KATONIVERE elected president; Wiliame KATONIVERE (People's Alliance) 28 votes, T
• eimumu KEPA (SODELPA) 23 votes expected date of next election: 2027

Description

Unicameral Parliament (55 seats; members directly elected in a nationwide, multi-seat constituency by open-list proportional representation vote with a 5% electoral threshold; members serve 4-year terms)

Elections

Last held on 14 December 2022 (next to be held in 2026)

Election Results

• Percent of vote by party - FijiFirst 42.5%, People's Alliance 35.8%, NFP 8.9%, SODELPA 5.1%, other 7.7%
• seats by party - FijiFirst 26, People's Alliance 21, NFP 5, SODELPA 3
• composition as of January 2024 - men 50, women 5, percent of women 9.1%

• Highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice, all justices of the Court of Appeal, and judges appointed specifically as Supreme Court judges); Court of Appeal (consists of the court president, all puisne judges of the High Court, and judges specifically appointed to the Court of Appeal); High Court (chaired by the chief justice and includes a minimum of 10 puisne judges; High Court organized into civil, criminal, family, employment,
• and tax divisions) Judge selection and term of office: Chief justice appointed by the president of Fiji on the advice of the prime minister following consultation with the parliamentary leader of the opposition; judges of the Supreme Court, the president of the Court of Appeal, the justices of the Court of Appeal, and puisne judges of the High Court appointed by the president of Fiji upon the nomination of the Judicial Service Commission after consulting with the cabinet minister and the committee of the House of Representatives responsible for the administration of justice; the chief justice, Supreme Court judges and justices of Appeal generally required to retire at age 70, but this requirement may be waived for one or more sessions of the court; puisne judges appointed for not less than 4 years nor more than 7 years,
• with mandatory retirement at age 65 Subordinate courts: Magistrates' Court (organized into civil, criminal, juvenile, and small claims divisions)

Summary

14 provinces

Regions or States

• and 1 dependency*
• Ba
• Bua
• Cakaudrove
• Kadavu
• Lau
• Lomaiviti
• Macuata
• Nadroga and Navosa
• Naitasiri
• Namosi
• Ra
• Rewa
• Rotuma*
• Serua
• Tailevu

• Fiji First [Voroqe "Frank" BAINIMARAMA]
• Fiji Labor Party or FLP [Mahendra CHAUDHRY]
• Freedom Alliance [Jagath KARUNARATNE] (formerly Fiji United Freedom Party or FUFP)
• National Federation Party or NFP [Biman PRASAD] (primarily Indian)
• People's Alliance [Sitiveni RABUKA]
• Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Lynda TABUYA]
• Social Democratic Liberal Party or SODELPA [Lenaitasi DURU, general secretary]
• Unity Fiji [Savenaca NARUBE]

• No Citizenship by descent only: At least one
• Yes Residency requirement for naturalization: At least 5 years residency out of the 10 years preceding application

ACP, ADB, AOSIS, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca (suspended), SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Chief of Mission

Ambassador Marie DAMOUR (since 24 November 2022); note - also accredited to Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu Embassy: 158 Princes Road, Tamavua, Suva Mailing address: 4290 Suva Place, Washington DC 20521-4290

Telephone

[679] 331-4466

FAX

[679] 330-2267

Email address and website

• SuvaACS@state.gov
• https://fj.usembassy.gov/

Chief of Mission

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Aporosa BABAKOBUA

Chancery

1707 L Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036

Telephone

[1] (917) 208-4560

FAX

[1] (202) 466-8325

Email address and website

• info@FijiEmbassyDC.com
• https://www.fijiembassydc.com/