General elections were held in

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 ...

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 A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Kamisese Mara Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, (6 May 1920 – 18 April 2004) was a Fijian politician, who served as Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the fi ...

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 The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A. D. Patel, A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party (Fiji, 1960s), National Democratic Party. Though it claimed to ...

(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 Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

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 ...

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,Unscrmabling the broken eggs in Fiji's political basket
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', June 1977, p12 an extremist organisation that ran on a "Fiji for the Fijians" platform and advocated the repatriation of

Indo-Fijians Indo-Fijians or Indian-Fijians (also known as Fiji Indians) are Fijian citizens of Indian descent, and include people who trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent.Girmit by Suresh Prasad Although Indo-Fijians constitu ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Three ministers – Peniame Naqasima, Josua Toganivalu and Sakiasi Waqanivavalagi – lost their seats.

Aftermath

Following the elections Mara resigned as Prime Minister on 5 April and turned down offers from the NFP to participate in a coalition government.'Fiji for Fijians' brings these islands to the brink
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', May 1977, pp8–10 It was expected that the NFP would be unable to form a government without a majority, but independent MP Osea Gavidi announced that he would support the party, giving it a two-seat majority. However, Gavidi changed his mind the following day. Four days after the election,

Sidiq Koya Siddiq Moidin Koya (29 February 1924 – 25 April 1993) was a Indians in Fiji, Fijian Indian politician, Statesman and Leader of the Opposition (Fiji), Opposition leader. He succeeded to the leadership of the mostly Indians in Fiji, Indo-Fij ...

arrived at Government House expecting to be offered the opportunity to form a government. However, he was told by Governor-General Cakobau that he had reappointed Mara. Cakobau then made a statement claiming that Mara had the support of the majority of MPs. ''

Pacific Islands Monthly ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', commonly referred to as "PIM", was a magazine founded in 1930 in Sydney by New Zealand born journalist R.W. Robson. Background ''Pacific Islands Monthly'' was started in Sydney in 1930. The first issue ran in August ...

'' reported that following an NFP meeting to discuss the allocation of cabinet portfolios (in which Koya only narrowly won a vote to remain leader of the party), opponents of Koya had passed a message to the Governor-General stating that they would not support him as Prime Minister. Supporters of Koya subsequently blamed a faction led by NFP president

Irene Jai Narayan Irene Jai Narayan (23 February 1932 – 29 July 2011) was an Indian-born teacher and politician, who had a significant influence on politics in Fiji. She came to Fiji in 1959 after marrying Jai Narayan, a well known school Principal in Suva, ...

for keeping the party out of office. In June Mara moved a motion of confidence in his government. The NFP proposed an amendment that the Governor-General should ignore any request from Mara to dissolve parliament if the motion was defeated, and instead appoint Koya as Prime Minister. House Leader Jonati Mavoa claimed that the Governor-General had no legal right to ignore such a request. The NFP amendment passed after Butadroka voted in favour. However, Cakobau dissolved parliament at the end of June,With an election in the offing, Fiji's cliff-hanger continues
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', July 1977, p11 with fresh elections later scheduled for September.

References

{{Fijian elections 1977 03

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Results

Aftermath

See also

References