The Civil Society Alliance for Democracy has condemned the rushed and deeply inadequate process through which the People’s Alliance Party-led Government is seeking to replace Fiji’s Constitution, and demands that the planned third reading of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill on 2nd November 2026 be deferred.
The Civil Society Alliance for Democracy is made up of the Centre for Democracy and Dialogue (CDD), Fiji Council of Social Services, Transparency and Integrity Fiji, Social Empowerment Education Programme (SEEP), ILGA Oceania, femLINKpacific, Conciliation Resources, Fiji Council of Churches, School Management Association of Fiji, Shree Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji, United Nations Association of Fiji and Interfaith Search Fiji.
They say the Government must reopen written submissions and provide at least six months for meaningful public education, consultation and scrutiny of the actual constitutional text it proposes to enact.
The Civil Society Alliance says further parliamentary consideration should take place no earlier than April or May 2027, given the impending general election and only when that work has been properly completed.
They add a constitution determines who exercises power, how that power is restrained, what rights people enjoy and how they can hold their government accountable.
The Alliance says the public has been denied a reasonable opportunity to participate.
They add the Government Draft Constitution runs to 150 pages and contains 229 sections.
The Civil Society Alliance for Democracy says the citizens and organisations are expected to understand its provisions, compare them with the existing Constitution and the Commission’s draft, assess their combined effects and prepare considered submissions within an exceptionally short period.
They say even organisations with legal and policy expertise face serious difficulty undertaking that work within such a timetable.
They further say submitters were allowed only four or five minutes to address the committee, and consultations lasted a few short hours at every venue, and were shockingly tokenistic in nature.
The Alliance says people cannot reasonably be expected to compress an examination of the country’s proposed constitutional order into a few minutes and then accept that they have been meaningfully consulted.
CSAD considers the two-day interval between introduction and the second reading grossly inadequate for informed consideration of such a consequential Bill.
They say parliamentary speeches and a vote do not, by themselves, establish that members had a full opportunity to examine and debate the proposed constitutional settlement.
The Alliance says the Government has repeatedly criticised the 2013 Constitution for its democratic deficit, yet how can that deficit be remedied through a process that itself is deeply deficit and even denies people a meaningful opportunity to shape its replacement.
Concerns raised about the draft include internal inconsistencies, defective cross-references, unclear transitional arrangements and provisions with potentially serious consequences for democratic accountability, questions about executive power, independent appointments, electoral design, constituency boundaries, immunity, children’s rights and commencement require careful examination and independent legal and technical expertise.
The Alliance says the general election must proceed within the existing constitutional timetable.
They say reform must continue through a lawful process across the election, with any necessary reintroduction of legislation in the newly elected Parliament.
