Fiji election of 1987
Encyclopedia
General elections were held in Fiji
between 4 and 11 April 1987. It was historic in that it marked the first electoral transition of power in Fijian history. The Alliance Party
of the longtime Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
, was defeated by a multiracial coalition, consisting of the Fiji Labour Party
(contesting the election for the first time), the Indo-Fijian-dominated National Federation Party
, and two smaller parties, the Western United Front
and the Fiji Nationalist Party. In the House of Representatives
, the coalition won a total of 28 seats to the Alliance's 24, and Dr Timoci Bavadra
, the leader of the coalition, became Prime Minister.
Bavadra's 28 member Parliamentary caucus included only 7 ethnic Fijians
, all of them elected with predominantly Indo-Fijian support from "national
" as opposed to "communal
" electorates. (Fiji then had a complex voting system, allocating ethnic Fijians and Indo-Fijians 22 seats each, with a further 8 reserved for Europeans, Chinese, and other minorities. 12 of the representatives for both indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians group represented "communal" constituencies, elected from closed electoral rolls, while the other 10 represented "national" constituencies, elected by universal suffrage; the 8 minority seats comprised 3 communal and 5 national constituencies). Only six ethnic Fijians, including Dr Bavadra, were appointed to the new cabinet, as opposed to seven Into-Fijians and minority representative. Effective Indo-Fijian domination of the government caused widespread resentment among the ethnic Fijian community, and after less than a month in office, the new government was deposed in on May 14 1987 in a coup d'état
led by Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka
.
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
between 4 and 11 April 1987. It was historic in that it marked the first electoral transition of power in Fijian history. The Alliance Party
Fijian Alliance
The Alliance Party, was the ruling political party in Fiji from 1966 to 1987. Founded in the early 1960s, its leader was Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the founding father of the modern Fijian nation...
of the longtime Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
Kamisese Mara
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, CF, GCMG, KBE is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. He was Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992...
, was defeated by a multiracial coalition, consisting of the Fiji Labour Party
Fiji Labour Party
The Fiji Labour Party is a political party in Fiji, which holds observer status with the Socialist International. Most of its support at present comes from the Indo-Fijian community, although it is officially multiracial and its first leader was an indigenous Fijian, Dr. Timoci Bavadra. It is...
(contesting the election for the first time), the Indo-Fijian-dominated National Federation Party
National Federation Party (Fiji)
The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party...
, and two smaller parties, the Western United Front
Western United Front (Fiji)
Western United Front was an ethnically Fijian political party formed prior to the 1982 elections and contested the election in coalition with the National Federation Party .- The formation of the Party :...
and the Fiji Nationalist Party. In the House of Representatives
House of Representatives (Fiji)
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. It is the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone has the power to initiate legislation...
, the coalition won a total of 28 seats to the Alliance's 24, and Dr Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Uluivuda Bavadra was a medical doctor who served for one month as the second Prime Minister of Fiji in 1987 and who founded the Fiji Labour Party....
, the leader of the coalition, became Prime Minister.
Bavadra's 28 member Parliamentary caucus included only 7 ethnic Fijians
Fijian people
Fijian people are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. The Fijian people are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, though the exact origins of the Fijian people are unknown...
, all of them elected with predominantly Indo-Fijian support from "national
National constituencies (Fiji)
National constituencies are a former feature of the Fijian electoral system. They were created as a compromise between demands for universal suffrage on a common voters' roll, and for a strictly communal franchise, with Parliamentary constituencies allocated on an ethnic basis and elected only by...
" as opposed to "communal
Communal constituencies (Fiji)
Communal constituencies have been the most durable feature of the Fijian electoral system. In communal constituencies, electors enrolled as ethnic Fijians, Indo-Fijians, Rotuman Islanders, or General Electors vote for a candidate of their own respective ethnic groups, in constituencies that have...
" electorates. (Fiji then had a complex voting system, allocating ethnic Fijians and Indo-Fijians 22 seats each, with a further 8 reserved for Europeans, Chinese, and other minorities. 12 of the representatives for both indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians group represented "communal" constituencies, elected from closed electoral rolls, while the other 10 represented "national" constituencies, elected by universal suffrage; the 8 minority seats comprised 3 communal and 5 national constituencies). Only six ethnic Fijians, including Dr Bavadra, were appointed to the new cabinet, as opposed to seven Into-Fijians and minority representative. Effective Indo-Fijian domination of the government caused widespread resentment among the ethnic Fijian community, and after less than a month in office, the new government was deposed in on May 14 1987 in a coup d'état
Fiji coups of 1987
The Fiji coups of 1987 resulted in the overthrow of the elected government of Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and in the declaration of a republic...
led by Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka
Sitiveni Rabuka
Major-General Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, OBE, MSD, OStJ, is best known as the instigator of two military coups that shook Fiji in 1987. He was later democratically elected the third Prime Minister, serving from 1992 to 1999...
.
Results
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance Party | 484,543 | 49.5 | 24 | |
| National Federation Party National Federation Party (Fiji) The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party... -Fiji Labour Party Fiji Labour Party The Fiji Labour Party is a political party in Fiji, which holds observer status with the Socialist International. Most of its support at present comes from the Indo-Fijian community, although it is officially multiracial and its first leader was an indigenous Fijian, Dr. Timoci Bavadra. It is... |
461,056 | 47.1 | 28 | |
| Fijian Nationalist Party Fijian Nationalist Party The Fijian Nationalist Party was a political party in Fiji, founded in 1975 by Sakeasi Butadroka, a parliamentarian who defected from the then-ruling Fijian Alliance, on a "Fiji for the Fijians!" platform. Its support peaked in the parliamentary election of March 1977, when it took 24.4 percent... |
14,484 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Western United Front Western United Front (Fiji) Western United Front was an ethnically Fijian political party formed prior to the 1982 elections and contested the election in coalition with the National Federation Party .- The formation of the Party :... |
8,339 | 0.9 | 0 | |
| National Federation Party National Federation Party (Fiji) The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party... -Koya |
4,462 | 0.5 | 0 | New |
| Independents | 6,723 | 0.7 | 0 | 0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 22,238 | |||
| Total | 1,001,845 | 100 | 52 | 0 |
| Source: Nohlen et al | ||||