Alliance Party (Fiji)
The Alliance Party, was the ruling political party in Fiji from 1966 to 1987. Founded in the early 1960s, its leader was Kamisese Mara, the founding father of the modern Fijian nation. Widely seen as the political vehicle of the traditional Fijian chiefs, the Alliance Party also commanded considerable support among the Europeans and other ethnic minorities, who, although comprising only 3–4% of Fiji's population, were over represented in the parliament (with a third of the seats before 1973, and a sixth thereafter, allocated to them). Indo-Fijians were less supportive, but the Fijian-European block vote kept the Alliance Party in power for more than twenty years. Formation of the Alliance Party The formation of the Alliance Party was the direct result of the call, in November 1965, by the Governor, Sir Derek Jakeway, ''"for leaders of imagination, who have the interests of all the people of Fiji truly at heart, to build political alliances with the object of contesting el ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about . The most outlying island group is Ono-i-Lau. About 87% of the total population of live on the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts: either in the capital city of Suva; or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi—where tourism is the major local industry; or in Lautoka, where the Sugarcane, sugar-cane industry is dominant. The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain. The majority of Fiji's islands were formed by Volcano, volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago. Some geo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1966 Fijian General Election
General elections were held in Fiji between 26 September and 8 October 1966,Militant Indians active as Fiji goes to the polls ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', October 1966, p9 the last before independence in 1970 and the first held under .1966 Fiji Legislative Council elections Fiji Elections The result was a victory for the [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sitiveni Rabuka
Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, (; born 13 September 1948) is a Fijian politician who has served as Prime Minister of Fiji since 24 December 2022. He was the instigator of two military coups in 1987. He was democratically elected as Prime Minister of Fiji, serving from 1992 to 1999, and again in 2022 leading a three-party coalition. He also served as Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs from 1999 to 2001, and later as Chairman of the Cakaudrove Provincial Council from 2001 to 2008. Rabuka was elected as leader of the Social Democratic Liberal Party in 2016, succeeding Leader of the Opposition Ro Teimumu Kepa, who publicly disapproved of Rabuka's nomination to replace her. He was appointed as the leader of the Opposition to Parliament in 2018, following the 2018 election defeat. He was the only nomination for the position and his nomination was moved by Ro Teimumu Kepa and seconded by Biman Prasad. He was ousted as SODELPA leader by Viliame Gavoka in a leadership contest. R ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Uluivuda Bavadra (22 September 1934 – 3 November 1989) was a Fijian medical doctor who founded the Fiji Labour Party and served as the Prime Minister of Fiji for one month in 1987. He was born in Viseisei, Viti Levu, and was medical doctor and politician by profession. Contesting his first election in 1987, Bavadra forged an electoral coalition between his Labour Party and the much older, Indo-Fijian-dominated National Federation Party. Although much larger, the NFP agreed to play a junior role in the coalition, aware that much of the ethnic Fijian community was not ready to accept an Indo-Fijian Prime Minister; even a government with a significant Indo-Fijian presence was itself bound to stretch the patience of ethnic Fijians. The election was a stunning upset. The Labour-NFP coalition captured 28 seats, four more than the Alliance Party, thereby ending the twenty-year reign of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, who, first as Chief Minister and subsequently as Prime Minister ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1987 Fijian General Election
General elections were held in Fiji between 4 and 11 April 1987. They marked the first electoral transition of power in Fijian history. Despite receiving just under 50% of the vote, the Alliance Party of longtime Prime Minister, Kamisese Mara was defeated by a coalition of the Fiji Labour Party (contesting a general election for the first time) and National Federation Party, which won 28 seats to the Alliance's 24. The Labour Party's Timoci Bavadra became Prime Minister. Bavadra's 28-member parliamentary caucus included only seven ethnic Fijians, all of them elected with predominantly Indo-Fijian support from national constituencies. His fourteen-member cabinet included six Fijians, seven Indo-Fijians and one European. Effective Indo-Fijian control of the government caused widespread resentment among the ethnic Fijian community, and after less than a month in office, the new government was deposed on 14 May in a coup d'état led by Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. Elector ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1982 Fijian General Election
General elections were held in Fiji between 10 and 17 July 1982. The paradoxical results were both a triumph and a setback for the Alliance Party of the Prime Minister, Kamisese Mara. The Alliance received 52% of the popular vote, only slightly down on its previous total, but won only 28 seats, eight fewer than in the previous elections of September 1977. Part of the reason for this discrepancy was that the slight surge in support for Mara's Alliance in the Indo-Fijian community, from 14 percent to 16 percent, was not sufficient to translate into seats in Fiji's communal electoral system, and did not therefore off-set losses among the ethnic Fijian community, particularly in the west of the country. The Western United Front of Osea Gavidi won only two seats, but split the vote, allowing the National Federation Party (NFP), with which it tactically allied itself, to gain seven seats for a total of 22. The NFP, which had split into two factions before the previous elections, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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September 1977 Fijian General Election
Early general elections were held in Fiji between 17 and 24 September 1977. They followed elections in March which resulted in a hung parliament and no party able to gain a majority. The new election resulted in a landslide win for the Alliance Party (Fiji) led by Prime Minister Kamisese Mara, which won 36 seats out of 52. It was aided by a split in the main opposition, the National Federation Party (NFP) and a decline in support for the Fijian Nationalist Party. Background The March elections had seen the NFP win 26 seats, the Alliance 24, the Fijian Nationalist Party one and an independent one. With divisions apparent in the NFP, Governor-General George Cakobau asked Alliance Party leader and incumbent Prime Minister Kamisese Mara to form a government, claiming that Mara was able to command a majority. However, in June the Alliance Party attempted to pass a motion of confidence in the government but lost as the sole Fijian Nationalist Party MP voted against. At the end of J ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Cakobau
Ratu Sir George Kadavulevu Cakobau (6 November 1912 – 25 November 1989) was Governor-General of Fiji from 1973 to 1983. A great-grandson of Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the King of Bau who had unified all the tribes of Fiji under his reign in the mid-1800s and subsequently ceded the islands to the United Kingdom in 1874, Ratu Sir George held the traditional titles of Vunivalu of Bau and Tui Levuka and thus was considered by many as Fiji's highest-ranking traditional chief. Ratu Cakobau was appointed Governor-General in 1973, becoming the first indigenous Fijian to serve as the representative of Elizabeth II, Queen of Fiji. Education and early career Cakobau was educated first at Fiji's Queen Victoria School, then at Newington College in Australia (1927–1932) and Wanganui Technical College in Wanganui, New Zealand. He became a member of the Great Council of Chiefs in 1938, where he remained until 1972. When he first joined the Council, it had the power to make laws for t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Governor-General Of Fiji
The governor-general of Fiji was the representative of the Fijian monarch in the Dominion of Fiji from the country's independence in 1970 until the monarchy's deposition in 1987. History Fiji became a sovereign state and an independent monarchy in the Commonwealth of Nations on 10 October 1970. Queen Elizabeth II became Fiji's monarch, and held the title of ''queen of Fiji'' until 1987, when the monarchy was deposed following two military coups, led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. The monarch's functions were exercised in Fiji by her representative, the governor-general of Fiji. In 1987, following the monarchy's overthrow, the position of governor-general was abolished. The Fijian monarch was replaced with a president as head of state. List of governors-general of Fiji Following is a list of people who have served as governor-general of Fiji. See also *Governor of Fiji * List of heads of state of Fiji *Monarchy of Fiji *President of Fiji {{Fiji topics Colo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1977 Fijian Constitutional Crisis
Fiji's parliamentary election of March 1977 precipitated a constitutional crisis, which was the first major challenge to the country's democratic institutions since independence in 1970. Politics in the years before and after independence had been dominated by the conflicting interests of the ethnic Fijian and Indo-Fijian communities. At that time, Indo-Fijians slightly outnumbered ethnic Fijians, but by holding a virtual monopoly of the ethnic Fijian vote and by making significant inroads into the Indo-Fijian electorate (taking almost a quarter of their votes in the election of 1972), ''Ratu Sir'' Kamisese Mara's Alliance Party had maintained its grip on power. A split in the indigenous vote in 1977, however, resulted in a narrow win for the Indo-Fijian-dominated National Federation Party (NFP). Sidiq Koya, the NFP leader, was expected to become Prime Minister. Instead, the Governor-General, ''Ratu Sir'' George Cakobau, called on Mara to form a caretaker government, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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March 1977 Fijian General Election
General elections were held in Fiji between 19 March and 2 April 1977. As a result of a split in the ethnic Fijian vote, the ruling Alliance Party of Prime Minister Kamisese Mara suffered a narrow defeat. Although the Alliance Party received the most votes, it won only 24 seats, two fewer than the Indo-Fijian-dominated National Federation Party (NFP). One seat was won by the Fijian Nationalist Party, with the remaining seat going to an independent candidate, Osea Gavidi. Although the NFP emerged as the largest party, Governor-General George Cakobau asked Mara to form a new government, claiming that he had the support of the majority of the House. The new government remained in office until early elections in September the same year. Results Around 25% of the Fijian vote went to the new Fijian Nationalist Party of Sakeasi Butadroka, [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Responsible Government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive branch) in Westminster democracies are responsible to parliament rather than to the monarch, or, in a colonial context, to the imperial government, and in a republican context, to the president, either in full or in part. If the parliament is bicameral, then the government is responsible first to the parliament's lower house, which is more representative than the upper house, as it usually has more members and they are always directly elected. Responsible government of parliamentary accountability manifests itself in several ways. Ministers account to Parliament for their decisions and for the performance of their departments. This requirement to make announcements and to answer questions in Parliament means that ministers must have the priv ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |