Fiji election of 1977 (September)
Encyclopedia
Early general elections were held in Fiji
between 17 and 24 September 1977, following the impasse of an earlier election
that had been held in March. The National Federation Party
, the narrow winner of the election, had failed to form a government, owing to internal disputes, and the Governor-General, Ratu Sir George Cakobau
, had called on the defeated Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
, to form an interim government, pending fresh elections.
The new elections held in September resulted in a landslide win for Ratu Mara's Fijian Alliance Party
, which won an unprecedented 36 seats out of 52. It was aided by the decline in support for the Fijian Nationalist Party
of Sakeaki Butadroka; the xenophobic party which advocated "repatriating" Fijians of Indian descent to India
had attracted 25 percent of the ethnic Fijian
vote in March, splitting the ethnic Fijian vote and making it possible for the Indian-dominated National Federation Party to win. More than half of those who had voted for the Fijian Nationalist Party in March, mainly to lodge a protest vote against Ratu Mara's inclusive racial policies, returned to the Alliance in September. The Alliance was also helped by the continuing disarray in the ranks of the National Federation Party.
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
between 17 and 24 September 1977, following the impasse of an earlier election
Fiji election of 1977 (March)
General elections were held in Fiji between 19 March and 2 April 1977. A split in the ethnic Fijian vote, which saw 25 percent defecting to Fijian Nationalist Party of Sakeasi Butadroka, an extremist organization which advocated the "repatriation" of Indo-Fijians to India, led to the narrow defeat...
that had been held in March. The National Federation Party
National Federation Party (Fiji)
The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party...
, the narrow winner of the election, had failed to form a government, owing to internal disputes, and the Governor-General, Ratu Sir George Cakobau
George Cakobau
Ratu Sir George Kadavulevu Cakobau, GCMG, GCVO, OBE was Governor General of Fiji from 1973 to 1983. A great-grandson of Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the King of Bau who had unified all the tribes of Fiji under his reign in the mid-1800s and subsequently ceded the islands to the United Kingdom in...
, had called on the defeated Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
Kamisese Mara
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, CF, GCMG, KBE is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. He was Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992...
, to form an interim government, pending fresh elections.
The new elections held in September resulted in a landslide win for Ratu Mara's Fijian Alliance Party
Fijian Alliance
The Alliance Party, was the ruling political party in Fiji from 1966 to 1987. Founded in the early 1960s, its leader was Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the founding father of the modern Fijian nation...
, which won an unprecedented 36 seats out of 52. It was aided by the decline in support for the Fijian Nationalist Party
Fijian Nationalist Party
The Fijian Nationalist Party was a political party in Fiji, founded in 1975 by Sakeasi Butadroka, a parliamentarian who defected from the then-ruling Fijian Alliance, on a "Fiji for the Fijians!" platform. Its support peaked in the parliamentary election of March 1977, when it took 24.4 percent...
of Sakeaki Butadroka; the xenophobic party which advocated "repatriating" Fijians of Indian descent to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
had attracted 25 percent of the ethnic Fijian
Fijian people
Fijian people are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. The Fijian people are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, though the exact origins of the Fijian people are unknown...
vote in March, splitting the ethnic Fijian vote and making it possible for the Indian-dominated National Federation Party to win. More than half of those who had voted for the Fijian Nationalist Party in March, mainly to lodge a protest vote against Ratu Mara's inclusive racial policies, returned to the Alliance in September. The Alliance was also helped by the continuing disarray in the ranks of the National Federation Party.
Results
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance Party | 378,349 | 52.2 | 36 | |
| National Federation Party National Federation Party (Fiji) The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party... -Flower |
171,508 | 23.7 | 12 | -11 |
| National Federation Party National Federation Party (Fiji) The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party... -Dove |
149,305 | 20.6 | 3 | |
| Fijian Nationalist Party Fijian Nationalist Party The Fijian Nationalist Party was a political party in Fiji, founded in 1975 by Sakeasi Butadroka, a parliamentarian who defected from the then-ruling Fijian Alliance, on a "Fiji for the Fijians!" platform. Its support peaked in the parliamentary election of March 1977, when it took 24.4 percent... |
18,854 | 2.6 | 0 | |
| Independents | 6,228 | 0.9 | 1 | 0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 51,713 | |||
| Total | 775,957 | 100 | 52 | 0 |
| Source: Nohlen et al | ||||