Mahendra Chaudhry Photo: RNZ
A former Fiji prime minister is sceptical about the Sitiveni Rabuka-led coalition government's plans to set up a Constitution Review Commission to look at the 2013 Constitution.
On 21 January, Cabinet approved measures to begin the review on and a bill to amend relevant provisions will be finalised for tabling in parliament.
"The 2013 Constitution has been subject to wide criticism since its imposition. The criticisms relate both to the manner and process leading to its adoption, as well as aspects of its substantive content," the Fijian government said in a statement.
Read more:
It said that both the review and the bill will be a key part of the coalitions plans for 2025 parliamentary term.
However, Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry expressed doubt that the government will achieve anything of substance before the general election in December 2026.
Chaudhry, who led the country from 1999-2000 before his government was deposed at gunpoint in a coup, questioned whether the country needed another commission when work on a draft constitution had already been done by the Ghai Commission in 2012.
He said the draft could be used for public consultation.
Fiji constitution Photo: supplied
Amending the 2013 Constitution was a key part of Rabuka's People's Alliance Party (PAP) 2022 election manifesto.
The PAP believes the document is "dotted with limitations that render it non-compliant with international human rights laws".
Rabuka told local media in August last year that the Constitution gave the country's prime minister and the attorney-general "unusual" powers.
Fiji has had four constitutions: 1970, 1990, 1997, and 2013.
