SODELPA today respectfully made its submissions to the Constitutional Review Commission.

In presenting the submission, SODELPA Party Leader and Minister for Education, Hon. Aseri Radrodro, said Fiji now has a historic opportunity to resolve the constitutional issues that have divided the nation for more than a generation.

“The review of the 2013 Constitution must not be treated as a narrow legal exercise. It must be a national act of healing, reconstruction and democratic renewal. A durable Constitution must be owned by the people, reflect the lived realities of Fiji’s communities, protect equal citizenship, restore confidence in indigenous institutions, remove the culture of coup immunity, strengthen the rule of law, and create institutions that no government can easily capture,” Hon. Radrodro said.

The submission draws upon the current Constitutional Review Commission process, the 1997 Constitution, the 2012 Yash Ghai Draft Constitution, the SDL Party’s 2012 submission, the Citizens’ Constitutional Forum comparative analysis, the Great Council of Chiefs Review Report 2023, the Matanitu iTaukei Review 2024, relevant Fiji legislation, and international human rights principles.

Among SODELPA’s key recommendations are:

• Reinstating “Fiji Islander” as the common civic national identity for every citizen of Fiji, while reserving the term “Fijian” for indigenous iTaukei as the First Nations of Fiji and those registered in the Vola ni Kawa Bula (VKB). This proposal seeks to preserve equal citizenship and equal human dignity for all while recognising the unique place of Rotumans, Indo-Fijians, Banabans, descendants of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu peoples, Europeans, Chinese, and all other communities who call Fiji home.
• Removing entrenched constitutional immunity for coup makers and those involved in the unconstitutional overthrow of elected governments. SODELPA proposes that the Constitution prohibit future immunity for treason, coups, torture, serious human rights abuses, serious corruption, and unlawful seizure of power.
• Reinvigorating, strengthening and adequately resourcing the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) to enhance its role in nation-building, strategic defence, youth development, national security, border protection, crisis response and regional security.
• Establishing a National Truth, Reconciliation and Constitutional Accountability Commission to address Fiji’s history of coups and their victims, promote restorative justice, document institutional failures, recommend reparations, and provide conditional amnesty only where truth, accountability and victim participation have been achieved.
• Constitutionally recognising the Bose Levu Vakaturaga (Great Council of Chiefs) as an independent, non-partisan and properly funded institution of the vanua, responsible for safeguarding iTaukei culture, language, traditional knowledge, customary leadership, community cohesion, reconciliation and providing advice on matters affecting the vanua.
• Expanding the constitutional role of the Great Council of Chiefs to serve all Fiji Islanders, including advisory responsibilities on national security through representation on the National Security Council, resource management, climate policy, and indigenous affairs, consistent with its historical role established at the 1875 Bose Vakaturaga meeting in Draiba, Ovalau.
• Guaranteeing equal citizenship through a strengthened Bill of Rights that protects education, health, housing, water, food, employment, social security, disability inclusion, women’s rights, children’s rights, youth participation, labour rights, digital rights and environmental rights.
• Establishing a fair, representative and accountable Parliament through a Personalised National Open List electoral system, while considering the creation of a House of Review or Senate to ensure representation for provinces, maritime communities, Rotumans, Banabans, women, youth, persons with disabilities, customary institutions and civil society.
• Strengthening the independence of key constitutional institutions, including the judiciary, Electoral Commission, Auditor-General, Human Rights Commission, Public Service Commission, Ombudsman or Ethics and Integrity Commission, together with an anti-corruption framework free from political influence.
• Protecting iTaukei, Rotuman, Kioa and Banaban land, qoliqoli, culture, language, sacred sites, customary law and benefit-sharing rights, while ensuring customary systems operate consistently with human rights, natural justice and access to the courts.
• Promoting greater protection for local investment, business interests and SMEs while encouraging stronger domestic and international investment to support sustainable national development.
• Adopting a balanced constitutional amendment process, consistent with the Supreme Court’s 2025 advisory guidance, allowing constitutional reform through a strong parliamentary majority and a referendum, while requiring enhanced consultation for matters affecting protected rights, indigenous institutions, land, the Bill of Rights and the judiciary.

The guiding principle of SODELPA’s submission is clear: Fiji’s future cannot be built by erasing history, rewarding unlawful power, or concentrating authority. Instead, it must be founded on recognising every community, protecting the nation’s indigenous foundation, upholding equal citizenship, ending immunity for coups, and ensuring the Constitution becomes a living covenant of peace, justice and national unity.