The recent controversy surrounding Parliamentary remuneration has shifted the odds in favor of Fiji’s governing parties, potentially enabling the Government to secure the 75 percent majority in Parliament necessary to amend the 2013 Constitution.
Professor Anthony Regan, a constitutional law expert from the Australian National University, delivered these remarks during a public lecture at the Fiji National University’s Vice-Chancellor’s Leadership Seminar in Nasinu on Thursday.
The lecture, titled “Constitutional Change in Fiji: Looking to the Future,” touched on the process for amending the Constitution, specifically the procedure outlined in Section 160.
Professor Regan noted that achieving the required three-quarters majority in Parliament is more feasible now compared to a few weeks ago.
“The parliamentary remuneration issues have unexpectedly granted the Government a significantly larger majority,” Prof. Regan said.
While the possibility of achieving a three-quarters majority appears more likely, Prof. Regan expressed doubt about the feasibility of conducting a successful referendum or securing three-quarters of the population’s vote at the present time.
He mentioned that the 2013 Constitution does not clearly define whether voting should be compulsory or non-compulsory. One potential change could involve amending the electoral legislation to reintroduce compulsory voting.
“If compulsory voting is reinstated, it might be possible to secure the three-quarters majority of those voting for change. However, this would require extensive public awareness programs on both the shift to compulsory voting and the benefits of the proposed constitutional changes. Whether this would be sufficient remains uncertain. Ultimately, you’d have to be the judges of that,” Prof. Regan concluded.