Centre for Democracy and Dialogue (CDD) Director Nilesh Lal warns that bringing the proposed Constitution into force between 24th December and 31st December this year could trigger a constitutional crisis, with Parliament's term expiring while Cabinet continues in power.
Lal says under this scenario, Parliament would expire on 24th December 2026, while Cabinet could continue to exist, creating a situation where elections cannot be held and the current Cabinet remains in power undemocratically.
He describes this as an unacceptable situation that could amount to a self-coup.
Insert:Lal on writ 16th Oct
He warns that this could undermine Fiji's democratic progress, noting that the country has held three successful elections since returning to democracy in 2014 and experienced its first peaceful and enduring transfer of power.
Lal raised these concerns while discussing the proposed Constitution Amendment Bill, saying the Government draft is much closer to the 2013 Constitution than the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) draft in how constitutional power is distributed.
He says the Government draft gives even greater powers to the executive, despite concerns about the concentration of power under the 2013 Constitution.
Lal says the CRC draft included important safeguards that his organisation had publicly welcomed, but these have been removed or weakened in the Government draft.
These include provisions protecting judicial independence, limiting the Prime Minister's influence over appointments of the Chief Justice and President of the Court of Appeal, and capping Cabinet at 15 members.
He also raises concerns about the proposed Senate, saying 18 of its 24 members would be appointed upon Bose Levu Vakaturaga advice.
Lal says moving away from a fully elected legislature is a regression, arguing that lawmaking should be confined to elected representatives.
He says the proposed electoral system is incomplete and open to manipulation because it lacks an overhang mechanism to correct disproportionality arising from communal or constituency seats.
Lal also warns that the proposed Electoral Boundaries Commission could be vulnerable to political influence, as the Prime Minister would appoint its chair and most of its members.
He says this creates a risk of gerrymandering, where electoral boundaries are manipulated to give a political party an advantage, and maintains that a single national constituency would reduce opportunities for such manipulation.
Lal also questions the removal of accountability institutions, including FICAC, saying it should be depoliticised rather than abolished.
He says the Constitution Amendment Bill contains serious drafting problems, including internal inconsistencies, conflicting deadlines, unclear cross-references and transitional provisions, which he describes as dangerous defects in a constitutional document.
Lal further questions whether the public has been given enough time to participate in the process, saying the greater Suva area, with about 300,000 people between Lami and Nausori, has been allocated only about a day to make submissions despite representing more than a third of the population.
He says the CRC draft was made public on 22nd September, followed by the Constitution Amendment Bill on 30th September, and the two documents differ significantly.
Lal says CDD is preparing an approximately 80-page written submission for the Special Parliamentary Committee and questions whether the committee will have enough time to properly consider submissions within the 11-day period allowed.
He says the proposed Constitution contains 230 sections and requires careful examination before decisions are made.
