The recent controversy over Parliamentary remuneration has increased the likelihood of Fiji’s governing parties securing a 75 percent majority in Parliament, which is necessary to amend the 2013 Constitution.
Australian National University constitutional law expert Professor Anthony Regan highlighted this point while delivering a public lecture at Fiji National University’s Vice-Chancellor’s Leadership Seminar in Nasinu on Thursday.
Discussing the theme “Constitutional Change in Fiji: Looking to the Future,” he mentioned that one way to amend the Constitution would be through the process outlined in Section 160. He noted that achieving the three-quarters majority in Parliament seems more attainable now than it did a few weeks ago.
“The chaos resulting from the Parliamentary remuneration issues has unexpectedly given the Government a much larger majority,” said Prof Regan. “It seems somewhat more possible to achieve the three-quarters majority, although I am not an expert on Fiji’s politics.”
However, he cautioned that holding a referendum and securing the approval of three-quarters of the population would be very unlikely at present.
Prof Regan explained that the 2013 Constitution does not specify whether voting is compulsory or non-compulsory. He suggested that one option could be to amend the electoral legislation to reinstitute compulsory voting.
“If compulsory voting were brought back, it might just be possible to secure the three-quarters majority needed for constitutional change. A massive awareness campaign about the shift to compulsory voting, as well as the benefits of the proposed changes, would be essential. Would that be enough? I’m not sure. That is for you to judge.”
The post originally appeared on The Fiji Times.