The Constitution Review Commission has recommended a 41 seat House of Representatives or Parliament with 26 constituencies.
According to the Draft Constitution Bill, 26 MPs are to be elected under the first past the post system and 15 through the proportional representation system.
The Commission confirms that it has not recommended any reserved seats for women or ethnic groups.
All will be Open seats.
The Review Commission is recommending a 19 seat Senate.
The Commission is also recommending through the Draft Constitution that the election of the country's President be done by a 6 member Presidential Appointment Committee.
The nominees for the President can be made by the Boselevu Vakaturaga, the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition, the Council of Churches and the inter-faith group.
Religious freedom is guaranteed in the Draft Constitution however the Commission has recommended that Secular State be removed from the new Constitution.
The Commission has also recommended that FICAC should be an investigative body and the prosecution of the cases to be handled by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Some of the recommendations arising from the 2013 Constitution review are the reinstatement of the Boselevu Vakaturaga; the reinstatement of the Senate as the Upper House of Parliament; the reinstatement of the Public Service Commission to oversee the Public Service and personal matters of public servants; the continued use of “Fijian” as the national identity with a caveat that a consultative process is to be utilised so that people of Fiji can decide what their common or national identity should be, among other things.
This was highlighted by the Chairman of the Constitution Review Commission, Sevuloni Valenitabua as the commission handed over it's report and the Draft Constitution Bill to President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu.
Valenitabua says from the recommendations, the Commissioners wrote a Draft Constitution.
He says the Draft Constitution, which is an amendment, is a recommended Constitution to take Fiji forward.
The Chairman says the draft is forward-looking, recognises our nation’s multiracialism; it aspires to streamline State services; and it aspires to encourage peaceful living of all ethnic groups within Fiji, among other things.
The original Commissioners were: Professor Dr. Unaisi Nabobo-Baba (Vice Chancellor, Fiji National University [FNU]), Professor Dr. Neelesh Gounder (Economist, Lecturer at the University of the South Pacific), Dr. John Fatiaki (Private Medical Practitioner, Suva), Conway Beg (Architect, Suva), Merewalesi Nailatikau (Consultant, Suva), Ami Kholi (Barrister and Solicitor, Private Practitioner, Labasa) and Sevuloni Valenitabua (Barrister and Solicitor, Private Practitioner, Nausori) as Chairperson.
Commissioner Professor Dr. Unaiasi Nabobo-Baba, who was initially one of the seven Commissioners, resigned on 5th May 2026 due to her busy work commitments as the Vice Chancellor of the FNU.
Dr. Salanieta Bakalevu was appointed to replace Professor Dr.Nabobo-Baba as the seventh Commissioner.
The Commission was assisted by three professionals and experts from Australia and New Zealand.
They were Professor Anthony Regan (a Constitutional Lawyer from the Australian National University), Dr. Kathrene Le Roy (the Deputy Head of the Queensland Legislative Drafting Office – Legal Drafter) and Fiona Leonard (former Head of the New Zealand Drafting Office in Wellington – Legal Drafter).
1,220 submissions were received, through oral, virtual and online means.
These submissions were from Government Ministries, statutory bodies, non-government organisations, individuals, Villages, Tikina and Yasana; comprising 832 individual and 388 joint submissions.
The CRC’s face-to-face consultative sessions were attended by 3,873 people.
Cabinet will now look at the report and the Draft Constitution Bill.
The report and Bill have not been made public and the media was not invited to cover the handing over of the documents to the President at State House.
We have requested for the report and Bill.
Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka and Acting Attorney General, Siromi Turaga are yet to respond.
