General elections were held in Fiji

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 10 and 17 July 1982. The paradoxical results were both a triumph and a setback for the 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...

 of the 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...

. The Alliance captured an unprecedented 51.8 percent of the popular vote - the first time that it had received an absolute majority. However, it won only 28 seats, 8 fewer than at the previous election

Fiji election of 1977 (September)

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...

 of September 1977. Part of the reason for this discrepancy was the surge in support for Ratu Mara's Alliance in the Indo-Fijian community, from 14 percent to almost 24 percent, was not sufficient to translate into seats in Fiji's communal electoral system, and did not therefore off-set losses among 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...

 community, particularly in the west of the country. The Western United Front

Western United Front (Fiji)

Western United Front was an ethnically Fijian political party formed prior to the 1982 elections and contested the election in coalition with the National Federation Party .- The formation of the Party :...

 of Ratu Osea Gavidi won only two seats, but split the vote, allowing 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...

, with which it tactically allied itself, to pick up six seats for a total of 22.

Results

7

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/-
Alliance Party	507,163	51.8	28
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...	403,548	41.2	22
Western United Front Western United Front (Fiji) Western United Front was an ethnically Fijian political party formed prior to the 1982 elections and contested the election in coalition with the National Federation Party .- The formation of the Party :...	37,266	3.8	2	New
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...	27,329	2.8	0	0
Independents	3,903	0.4	0
Invalid/blank votes	19,605
Total	998,814	100	52	0
Source: Nohlen et al