The prime minister is the head of government and serves four-year terms. The party that wins the most seats in parliamentary elections selects the prime minister, who is then appointed by the president. In the 2018 parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Bainimarama’s FijiFirst Party won 50 percent of the total vote and 27 seats in the 51-member parliament. The Multinational Observer Group reported that the polling “was transparent and credible overall and the outcome broadly represented the will of Fijian voters.”

The president is elected by parliament, which chooses between two candidates: one named by the prime minister and one by the leader of the opposition. As head of state, the president—who is elected to a three-year term and is eligible for reelection—holds a largely ceremonial role. President George Konrote was sworn in to a second term in November 2018.

Parliament is Fiji’s unicameral legislative body, with 51 members elected to serve four-year terms. International observers of the 2018 parliamentary elections found polling largely credible, although civil society participation was limited.

Municipal councils continue to be run by government-appointed administrators, having been dissolved in 2009 in the wake of the abrogation of the 1997 constitution. As a result, municipal elections have not been held since 2005.

The legal framework for Fijian elections is considered fair. However, the structure of the electoral system has raised concerns about potential political interference. FijiFirst’s secretary general, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, serves as minister of elections, as well as attorney general. Opposition parties claim that this creates a bias in the Electoral Commission, which administers elections, and affects the independence of the body.

The right to form political parties is constitutionally guaranteed, but the government has eligibility requirements that discourage the formation of smaller parties: prospective parties must submit 5,000 signatures to become registered. The 5 percent nationwide threshold for representation in parliament further disincentivizes the formation of smaller parties.

The dominance of FijiFirst in parliament and its popularity with the public has left little space for opposition forces to assert themselves politically. However, the major opposition party, the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA), won 21 seats in 2018, up from 15 in 2014. FijiFirst has used state resources to advance its political campaigns. The Multinational Observer Group noted that during the 2018 parliamentary campaign, government ministers and high-level officials engaged in a number of high-profile activities, such as opening buildings, signing commercial contracts, and disbursing government grants and funds, which could have provided an electoral advantage to FijiFirst.

Opposition figures have been targeted by corruption charges they claim are politically motivated. Before the 2018 election, the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) charged Sitiveni Rabuka with making a false declaration of assets. He was acquitted, but FICAC appealed the decision, and the case was ultimately dismissed two days before the elections in November. Had he been convicted, Rabuka would have been barred from the contest.

In August 2019, video footage emerged of FijiFirst Prime Minister Bainimarama assaulting the National Federation Party’s Pio Tikoduadua outside parliament after a quarrel within the parliamentary chamber. The Speaker of the House referred the matter to the privileges committee, which required that both apologize. Tikoduadua refused to do so and was consequently suspended from parliament for six months. In October, the public prosecutor declared that no charges would be brought against the prime minister.

Despite constitutional guarantees that it remains apolitical, the military has a history of interference in Fijian politics. The leaders of the two major political parties are former military officials, which contributes to the perception that the military has undue political influence.

The law does not restrict the participation of minorities and women in politics. However, both indigenous and Indo-Fijian women are underrepresented by political parties. Only 10 out of the 51 members of Parliament are women.

Small minority groups, including Banabans, Chinese, and people from other Polynesian islands, lack significant political representation.

Historically, political affiliations have been associated with ethnicity. The Bainimarama government pushed for national unity and a national identity transcending ethnicity, race, and religion.

The executive branch under Prime Minister Bainimarama determines the policies of government. With FijiFirst holding a strong parliamentary majority, the government has frequently pushed through bills and budgets with minimal scrutiny from the opposition.

Safeguards against corruption are limited in their effectiveness. The FICAC has had limited success combatting institutional corruption. Corruption remains a serious problem. FICAC has also allegedly pursued politically motivated corruption cases. Anticorruption lessons were introduced into the school curriculum in July 2019.

Since the restoration of elective democracy in 2014, government transparency and openness has improved. The government now organizes an annual briefing for civil society organizations on the budget. Parliamentary sessions are broadcast live, and the Hansard (an official report of parliamentary proceedings) is updated regularly. Although candidates for election are required to declare their assets, there is no law requiring public asset disclosures by members of parliament. Fiji lacks an access to information law, and requests for information from the media and the public are sometimes denied. In recent years, FijiFirst has used its parliamentary majority to rewrite parliamentary standing orders in a manner that limits debate on legislation and scrutiny of official statements.

Fiji has an active media sector, with several private television stations, radio stations, and newspapers. The political opposition and other critics of the FijiFirst government have accused the state of using its power to silence critics. For example, the vaguely worded Media Industry Development Decree bans reporting that is critical of the government or harmful to “national interest public order.” Restrictive press laws are sometimes enforced by the government, which leads to self-censorship.

Freedom of religion is generally respected, though in the past there have been many cases of vandalism of Hindu temples.

Academic freedom is not overtly constrained, but government control over funding has been used to exert influence over tertiary institutions. The University of the South Pacific prohibits the majority of its employees from taking on an official position with a political party or running for office.

There were few confirmed reports of the government restricting private discussion on political matters or other sensitive topics during 2019. However, the government places constraints on free speech, such as a law banning the burning of the national flag. In October, military officers arrested a 16-year-old boy for posting to Facebook an image of graffiti insulting the prime minister. Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho, a former military officer, defended the arrest, citing the 2013 Fijian Constitution’s provision that “it shall be the overall responsibility of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces to ensure at all times the security, defense and well-being of Fiji and all Fijians.” This provision has been widely used to defend military intervention in civilian affairs.

Respect for assembly rights worsened in 2019. The constitution gives the government wide latitude to prohibit protests, including on the basis of public safety and morality. The opposition National Federation Party was denied a permit for a march in October. Fiji has refused entry into the country for the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of assembly since 2014.

Score Change: The score declined from 3 to 2 because the authorities repeatedly rejected attempts by an opposition party to obtain permits for demonstrations during the year.

Fiji has an extensive nongovernmental organization (NGO) network, which largely operates without government interference. Strict sedition laws, which criminalize criticism of the government, place constraints on the range of initiatives that NGOs can undertake. NGOs have been critical of the proposed Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Bill, which they claim further penalizes criticism of parliament and could further erode civic space.

Restrictions on trade union protests remain. Around 30 trade unionists were taken into custody in April 2019 after a protest concerning a lockout of around 2,000 workers by the water authority. In May and August, union protests, the first of which was planned to coincide with the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), were prohibited, allegedly because they would interfere with traffic. Amnesty International reported a rise in harassment of trade unionists in the leadup to these protests and other important union meetings.

The law restricts political activities by union members, prohibiting union members from becoming members of parliament and impeding their ability to join political parties.

While the constitution guarantees an independent judiciary, there have been credible allegations of political interference. The prime minister has substantial appointment powers, with the authority to both appoint and dismiss judges on the Supreme Court and other high courts. These powers leave the judiciary vulnerable to interference and abuse by the executive. Fiji has refused entry into the country for the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges since 2014.

Due process rights are often not respected in practice. Corruption is a major problem in the police force. Due to resource shortages, lengthy pretrial detentions are common. The law allows suspects to be arrested without a warrant for violating the Crimes Decree. Politically motivated criminal charges are not uncommon.

Torture and beatings by police remain a serious issue. In March 2019, Amnesty International protested the lack of human rights in Fiji. Police officers and military officials who commit abuses are rarely brought to justice, and those who are convicted of crimes are frequently pardoned or have their convictions overturned on appeal. Prisons are often overcrowded, lack sanitation, and provide inadequate health services. Fiji refuses entry into the country for the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and related communities face discrimination in employment and access to healthcare. Women experience discrimination in employment as well, and a gender pay gap persists.

Relations between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians remain strained. Indigenous Fijians previously enjoyed legal advantages in education and political representation. However, the interim government, after the 2006 coup, removed many of these privileges in a bid to foster a sense of national unity.

Citizens enjoy the freedom to travel, live, work, and seek education inside and outside the country. However, the law gives the government broad powers to restrict both internal and foreign travel. The government did not utilize the law to impose any new restrictions on travel in 2019.

Property rights are generally respected. However, it is difficult to obtain land titles. The government amended the Land Sales Act in 2014 to require foreign nationals who fail to build a dwelling on their land within two years of acquisition to pay a fine equivalent to 10 percent of the land value every six months. Under the law, urban residential freehold land cannot be sold to foreigners.

Domestic violence remains a problem in Fiji, and perpetrators who are convicted of the crime often receive light sentences. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Center estimates that 64 percent of women who have been in a relationship have been victims of violence committed by their partner. Sexual violence and assault rose in 2019 and rape is a serious issue in Fiji.

LGBT+ people continue to face discrimination within Fijian society, although there is a growing movement in support of marriage equality. However, Prime Minister Bainimarama has been criticized for making prejudiced remarks in the past, and declared in August 2019 that, so long as FijiFirst remained in power, same-sex marriage would remain outlawed.

Sex trafficking of children remained a problem in 2019, and the government was ineffective in addressing it. The first and only sex-trafficking conviction in Fiji’s history occurred in December, despite the most recent US Trafficking in Persons report citing it as a major issue that has persisted over the course of many years. Safety standards at workplaces are not always adequately enforced. Long work hours are common in some jobs, including transportation and shipping.