Legislative Council of Fiji

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Former and informal

The Legislative Council of Fiji was the colonial precursor to the present-day Parliament, which came into existence when Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970.

The first Legislative Council

Immediately after Fiji was ceded to the United Kingdom, on 10 October 1874,

Attorney General of Fiji
; and four unofficial (representatives of the community not directly employed by the Government) members nominated by the Governor with the approval of the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Thus all ten members of the Legislative Council were Europeans.

Elected European and Nominated Fijian Representation

The first step towards making the Council a popularly elected legislature was taken in 1904, when the council was reconstituted as a 19-member body consisting of the Governor, 10 official members appointed by the Governor, 6 elected members chosen by European males, and 2 Fijian members appointed by the Governor from a list of 6 nominees submitted by the Great Council of Chiefs. Persistent demands by Europeans led to an increase in their representation to seven in 1914.

First Indian Nominated member

On 20 July 1916, the composition of the Legislative Council was increased to twelve nominated members of whom eleven were official members and one a

poll tax
but was re-nominated in 1926 and stayed on as a member until 1929.

Elected Indian Representation

On 1 May 1929, the

residency, literacy and nationality qualifications as Europeans. The new Legislative Council consisted of the Governor as President, not more than thirteen official members, three nominated Fijian members, six elected Europeans and three elected Indians. Europeans and Indians were elected from separate communal rolls
, while the Fijians were nominated from a panel of four to six names submitted by the Great Council of Chiefs.

Racial parity of non-official members

The next major development took place in 1937, when the Legislative Council was enlarged to 32 members. Of these, 17 were official members appointed by the Governor. In addition, there were five non-official members from each of the three major ethnic groups (Fijians,

Indo-Fijians, and Europeans); Indo-Fijians and Europeans directly elected 3 members each, with a further 2 being appointed by the Governor; all 5 Fijian representatives were appointed by the Governor from a list of ten names submitted by the Great Council of Chiefs. In 1954, Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna
was appointed the first Speaker of the Legislative Council.

Women and Fijians enfranchised

In 1963, women were enfranchised and indigenous Fijians were empowered for the first time to vote directly for their representatives on the Legislative Council. The Legislative Council elected in 1963 had 37 members. There were 12 elected members, four from each of the Fijian, Indian and European groups chosen on a communal franchise. The Governor also nominated two from each of the communities. There were to be 19 official members. The Legislative Councillors of each race were permitted to select two from their fellows to the Executive Council. Qualifications to register as a voter disallowed illiterate adults to vote, permitted some people to choose between ethnic rolls and made no provision for Rotumans, Pacific Islanders, Chinese and Part-Chinese to vote.

Universal adult suffrage

The Legislative Council elected in 1966 had 36 members. 25 seats represented

Europeans, Chinese), elected on closed electoral rolls by voters registered as members of their respective ethnic groups. A further 9 members were elected from cross-voting (from 1972 referred to as National) constituencies – seats allocated ethnically (3 for each ethnic constituency) but elected by universal suffrage. The remaining 2 members were nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs. The president of the Legislative Council was H. Maurice Scott.[2]

Responsible government

Westminster System of responsible government was taken in 1964 with the adoption of the Member system, whereby 3 members of the Legislative Council (one from each ethnic constituency) were appointed to the Executive Council and given portfolio responsibilities supervising government departments. They were not "Ministers" in the modern sense, however, as they were still responsible only to the Governor and could not be dismissed by the Legislative Council. In 1967, however, a full ministerial system was adopted, with a Cabinet responsible to the Legislature. Ratu Kamisese Mara (who was subsequently knighted in 1969) was appointed as the first Chief Minister
.

After independence

When Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970, the Legislative Council was replaced by the Fijian Parliament. A grandfather clause in the Constitution provided for the old Legislative Council to remain in office, with its name changed to the House of Representatives, pending the first post-independence elections of 1972.

Changing Composition of Legislative Council

Year of change European Members Fijian Members Indian Members Total
Official Nominated Elected Nominated Elected Nominated Elected
1875 6 4 0 0 0 0 0 10
1904 11 0 6 2 0 0 0 19
1916 11 0 7 2 0 1 0 21
1929 13 0 6 3 0 0 3 25
1937 17 2 3 0 5 2 3 32
1963 19 2 4 2 4 2 4 37
1966 0 0 10 2 12 0 12 36

References

  1. Long title: An Act for the Prevention and Punishment of Criminal Outrages upon Natives of the Islands in the Pacific Ocean), amended in 1875: Pacific Islanders Protection Acts 1875 Archived 25 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine
    (38 & 39 Vic. c. 51). Retrieved on 23 September 2015.
  2. ^ The Parliamentarian. Vol. 47. General Council of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. 1966.
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