Fiji ‘worse off today’, former PM warns, as Rabuka’s constitution overhaul faces backlash

Mahendra Chaudhry, Fiji’s first and only prime minister of Indian descent, has warned that the island nation is “worse off today than we were at independence” and that its political leadership must focus on solving social and economic issues rather than “making multiple constitutions”.

Chaudhry made the comments over the weekend while making a submission to a special parliamentary committee – led by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka – on the country’s constitutional reform process in Vanua Levu, Fiji’s second main island.

“Are we doing enough to alleviate the problems that we face as a nation that our people face, problems of poverty, hunger, unemployment, poor health services, education problems, crumbling infrastructure, the invasion by drug traffickers, HIV, NCDs (non-communicable diseases)?

“Is the economy delivering to the people? Are we giving sufficient attention to the economic problems that the nation faces? Because you can do nothing on the back of a failing economy.

“These are areas where our attention should be focused,” the former prime minister, whose government was held hostage at gunpoint for 56 days during the 2000 ethno-nationalist coup, said.

Rabuka’s coalition has made it its mission to replace the 2013 Constitution – widely criticised as being imposed by the previous Bainimarama administration – ahead of a looming election.

His government is currently conducting nationwide public consultations on its Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026, which passed its second reading earlier this month and is set to be brought back to parliament for its third reading next week.

If the bill passes its third reading, Fiji is set to hold its first national referendum in December, where the people will vote on whether they want Rabuka’s constitution. In its current form, the bill – presented to parliament in September – has been criticised as a downgrade from what the Constitution Review Commission had proposed.

Rabuka and his inner circle are backing the removal of the current constitution despite widespread opposition from local community leaders, non-governmental organisations as well as his own coalition partners who say that the process is being “rushed”.

Rabuka, 78, said he had a responsibility that he would review and amend the 2013 Constitution and “that’s what we’re going for”.

“You voted for us – some in government and some in opposition – so we have the collective vote of the people of Fiji,” he said at one of the public consulations last week.

“And you have entrusted us of doing the amendment in accordance with the rules of the country.”

The move has also given rise to online conspiracies and misinformation that Rabuka is deliberately trying to delay the election, forcing him to provide assurances that the general election will proceed as planned.

More than 723,000 eligible voters are expected to head to the polls no later than 6 February 2027.

Rabuka has so far kept the date of the general election close to his chest, stating previously that the election date will be announced after the constitutional reform process was completed.

“This is the fifth constitution that we will be looking at. Have the four previous constitutions served our purpose? Has it helped the people?” Chaudhry asked.

“Why do we rush this process of a new constitution? It can wait,” he said.

Chaudhry said Fiji could have an election under the 2013 Constitution and the incoming government could deal with the constitutional reform process.

“We have got to listen to the people. In this process, what I have noticed is that everybody has complained,” he said.

“If anything that has come through very clearly and loud in this consultation meeting, it is the people saying, ‘No, look, give us more time’.”

While the government’s constitution bill maintains the common national identity ‘Fijian’ for all its citizens, it proposes a new parliamentary system, brings back an unelected senate, changes the current electoral system, and provides “excessive concentration of constitutional power in the Executive”, according to Fiji’s Centre for Democracy and Dialogue.

It also includes Christianity as a founding value.

Chaudhry said the country should be looking at the proposed constitution that was presented by the Constitution Review Commission and not the government’s version of the document.

“Having had a look at the constitution presented as Bill 32 of 2026, I find it divisive, undemocratic, and discriminatory in many of its provisions,” he said.

“I have no problems with Christian values. I think they are good values, but I believe that religion and state must be kept apart because this is one aspect which can cause serious division [in a] multiracial country like Fiji between communities.

“I am a Hindu. My wife is a Christian. We have no problems. She practices her religion. I do mine. So where is the problem? Why do we have to put in something which is causing controversy? Is it necessary? It is not.”