Fijian Alliance
Encyclopedia
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. Widely seen as the political vehicle of the traditional Fijian chiefs, the Alliance Party also commanded considerable support among the Europeans and other ethnic minorities, who, although comprising only 3-4 % of Fiji's population, were over represented in the parliament (with a third of the seats before 1973, and a sixth thereafter, allocated to them). Indo-Fijians were less supportive, but the Fijian
-European block vote kept the Alliance Party in power for more than twenty years.
Derek Jakeway, "for leaders of imagination, who have the interests of all the people of Fiji truly at heart, to build political alliances with the object of contesting elections on a common racial platform and then, if they win a majority of seats, forming a broad based administration which will be effectively self-governing". In 1965, there already existed in Fiji political organisations which represented various interest groups (but no other political party like the Federation Party
). These were the Fijian Association, which was formed in 1956 to "counter the India
n demand for political reform", National Congress of Fiji
formed by Indians opposed to the Federation Party, General Electors Association representing the European
s and Part-Europeans, Suva Rotuman Association, Rotuman Convention, Chinese Association, All-Fiji Muslim Political Front, Fiji Minority Party and the Tongan Organization. On March 12, 1966, all these organisations, together with Vijay R. Singh
, came together under the leadership of Ratu Kamisese Mara to form the Alliance Party.
election was held, the Alliance Party had been in existence for only six months, consequently there was little coordination of activities between its affiliated organisations. Candidate selection was not streamlined and in four Fijian communal constituencies, the Fijian Association allowed its own members to stand against the Alliance endorsed candidates. Some candidates for the Indian communal constituencies stood in the election under the National Congress of Fiji banner. Sometimes individual ambition superseded party loyalty as seen by the case where a Europe
an member, on failing to obtain Alliance endorsement, resigned, stood as an independent, won the election, re-joined the Alliance and was made a Minister. In the end, the Alliance, won a landslide victory, taking 22 of the 34 directly elected seats. Its greatest achievement was winning the three cross-voting seats in the western division
, where the large Indian majority was expected to elect Federation Party candidates. After the election the three independents and two nominees of the Great Council of Chiefs
, also joined the Alliance to give it a total of 27 seats. The remaining 9 seats were won by the NFP, led by A. D. Patel. Owing to the victory of the Alliance, Ratu Mara was appointed Chief Minister
when responsible government
was introduced in September 1967.
, when a split in the ethnic Fijian vote resulted in the loss of nine seats. The Alliance ended up with 24 seats in the 52-seat parliament, two less than the Indo-Fijian-dominated National Federation Party (NFP). A constitutional crisis
developed when, three days after the election, the NFP splintered in a leadership brawl, and the Governor General of Fiji, Ratu Sir George Cakobau
, asked the Mara government to remain in power in a caretaker capacity. A second election
was held in September that year to resolve the impasse; the Alliance was returned with an unprecedented 36 seats out of 52.
The majority of the Alliance Party was reduced in the 1982 election
, but with 28 seats out of 52, it retained office. In April 1987
, the party was finally beaten by a multi-racial coalition led by Timoci Bavadra
, an ethnic Fijian who nevertheless drew most of his support from the Indo-Fijian population.
After less than a month in office, the new government was deposed in a military coup led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka
. After several months of turmoil, the former Prime Minister Ratu Mara, the Alliance Party leader, was called back to head a transitional government. As part of a major realignment of Fijian politics, however, the Alliance Party was dissolved.
, Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs from 2001 to 2004, and a son-in-law of the late Ratu Mara, formally registered the National Alliance Party of Fiji
on 18 January 2005 as a claimed successor to the defunct party. Ganilau launched the new party at a mass rally in Suva
on 8 April 2005.
The Fijian Alliance was considered to be a centre-right party, and was a member of the International Democrat Union
, an umbrella-organization of moderate right-wing parties from many countries, including the Republican Party of the United States
, the British Conservative Party
, and the Australian Liberal 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...
from 1966 to 1987. Founded in the early 1960s, its leader was 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 founding father
Father of the Nation
Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a man considered the driving force behind the establishment of their country, state or nation...
of the modern Fijian nation. Widely seen as the political vehicle of the traditional Fijian chiefs, the Alliance Party also commanded considerable support among the Europeans and other ethnic minorities, who, although comprising only 3-4 % of Fiji's population, were over represented in the parliament (with a third of the seats before 1973, and a sixth thereafter, allocated to them). Indo-Fijians were less supportive, but the 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...
-European block vote kept the Alliance Party in power for more than twenty years.
Formation of the Alliance Party
The formation of the Alliance Party was the direct result of the call, in November 1965, by the Governor, SirSir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Derek Jakeway, "for leaders of imagination, who have the interests of all the people of Fiji truly at heart, to build political alliances with the object of contesting elections on a common racial platform and then, if they win a majority of seats, forming a broad based administration which will be effectively self-governing". In 1965, there already existed in Fiji political organisations which represented various interest groups (but no other political party like the 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...
). These were the Fijian Association, which was formed in 1956 to "counter the 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...
n demand for political reform", National Congress of Fiji
National Congress of Fiji
The National Congress of Fiji was formed on 10 January 1965 at the Kisan Sangh Hall in Lautoka, in front of 1,500 farmers , led by Ayodhya Prasad. The Congress sent a telegram to the Secretary General of the United Nations stating that 80,000 Fiji Indians wanted to settle in a foreign country...
formed by Indians opposed to the Federation Party, General Electors Association representing the European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s and Part-Europeans, Suva Rotuman Association, Rotuman Convention, Chinese Association, All-Fiji Muslim Political Front, Fiji Minority Party and the Tongan Organization. On March 12, 1966, all these organisations, together with Vijay R. Singh
Vijay R. Singh
Sir Vijay Raghubar Singh, KBE was an Indo-Fijian lawyer and politician who held Cabinet office in the 1960s and 1970s. Vijay Singh served in Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara's government in a variety of positions, including Attorney-General, and was President of the Indian Alliance, a...
, came together under the leadership of Ratu Kamisese Mara to form the Alliance Party.
1966 general election
When the 1966 generalFiji election of 1966
The general election to the Legislative Council of Fiji in 1966 was the last to be held before independence from the United Kingdom was granted in 1970. It was not the first election to be held under colonial rule, but it marked the first time that all adult citizens were allowed to vote....
election was held, the Alliance Party had been in existence for only six months, consequently there was little coordination of activities between its affiliated organisations. Candidate selection was not streamlined and in four Fijian communal constituencies, the Fijian Association allowed its own members to stand against the Alliance endorsed candidates. Some candidates for the Indian communal constituencies stood in the election under the National Congress of Fiji banner. Sometimes individual ambition superseded party loyalty as seen by the case where a Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an member, on failing to obtain Alliance endorsement, resigned, stood as an independent, won the election, re-joined the Alliance and was made a Minister. In the end, the Alliance, won a landslide victory, taking 22 of the 34 directly elected seats. Its greatest achievement was winning the three cross-voting seats in the western division
Western Division, Fiji
The Western Division of Fiji is one of Fiji's four divisions. It consists of the three provinces Ba, Nadroga-Navosa and Ra.The capital of the division is Lautoka. The division includes the western part of the largest island in Fiji, Viti Levu, with a few outlying islands, including the Yasawa...
, where the large Indian majority was expected to elect Federation Party candidates. After the election the three independents and two nominees of the Great Council of Chiefs
Great Council of Chiefs (Fiji)
The Great Council of Chiefs is a now dormant 1997 constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands. In April 2007 the council was suspended, due to an unworkable relationship with Frank Bainimarama, leader of an "interim government" which came to power through a military coup in December 2006...
, also joined the Alliance to give it a total of 27 seats. The remaining 9 seats were won by the NFP, led by A. D. Patel. Owing to the victory of the Alliance, Ratu Mara was appointed Chief Minister
Chief Minister (Fiji)
Fiji's British colonial rulers established the office of Chief Minister in October 1967, along with the Cabinet system of government. This was part of an ongoing move to forge modern political institutions to prepare Fiji for independence, which was granted on 10 November 1970.The Chief Minister,...
when responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
was introduced in September 1967.
1977 to 1987
The rule of the Alliance Party was briefly challenged in the election of March 1977Fiji 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...
, when a split in the ethnic Fijian vote resulted in the loss of nine seats. The Alliance ended up with 24 seats in the 52-seat parliament, two less than the Indo-Fijian-dominated National Federation Party (NFP). A constitutional crisis
Fiji constitutional crisis of 1977
Fiji's parliamentary election of March 1977 precipitated a constitutional crisis, which was the first major challenge to the country's democratic institutions since independence in 1970....
developed when, three days after the election, the NFP splintered in a leadership brawl, and the Governor General of Fiji, 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...
, asked the Mara government to remain in power in a caretaker capacity. A second 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...
was held in September that year to resolve the impasse; the Alliance was returned with an unprecedented 36 seats out of 52.
The majority of the Alliance Party was reduced in the 1982 election
Fiji election of 1982
General elections were held in Fiji between 10 and 17 July 1982. The paradoxical results were both a triumph and a setback for the Fijian Alliance Party of the Prime Minister, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. The Alliance captured an unprecedented 51.8 percent of the popular vote - the first time that it...
, but with 28 seats out of 52, it retained office. In April 1987
Fiji election of 1987
General elections were held in Fiji between 4 and 11 April 1987. It was historic in that it marked the first electoral transition of power in Fijian history...
, the party was finally beaten by a multi-racial coalition led by Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Uluivuda Bavadra was a medical doctor who served for one month as the second Prime Minister of Fiji in 1987 and who founded the Fiji Labour Party....
, an ethnic Fijian who nevertheless drew most of his support from the Indo-Fijian population.
After less than a month in office, the new government was deposed in a military coup led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka
Sitiveni Rabuka
Major-General Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, OBE, MSD, OStJ, is best known as the instigator of two military coups that shook Fiji in 1987. He was later democratically elected the third Prime Minister, serving from 1992 to 1999...
. After several months of turmoil, the former Prime Minister Ratu Mara, the Alliance Party leader, was called back to head a transitional government. As part of a major realignment of Fijian politics, however, the Alliance Party was dissolved.
Attempts to revive the Alliance
More than fifteen years after the disbanding of the Fijian Alliance, Ratu Epeli GanilauEpeli Ganilau
Brigadier-General Ratu Epeli Ganilau, MC, MSD, is a Fijian soldier and statesman, who currently heads the National Alliance Party of Fiji. His career has previously encompassed such roles as Commander of the Fiji Military Forces and Chairman of the Bose Levu Vakaturaga...
, Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs from 2001 to 2004, and a son-in-law of the late Ratu Mara, formally registered the National Alliance Party of Fiji
National Alliance Party of Fiji
The National Alliance Party of Fiji is a Fijian political party. It was formally registered on 18 January 2005 by Ratu Epeli Ganilau, as the claimed successor to the defunct Alliance Party, which ruled Fiji from 1967 to 1987 under the leadership of the late Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, Ganilau's...
on 18 January 2005 as a claimed successor to the defunct party. Ganilau launched the new party at a mass rally in Suva
Suva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...
on 8 April 2005.
The Fijian Alliance was considered to be a centre-right party, and was a member of the International Democrat Union
International Democrat Union
The International Democrat Union, abbreviated to IDU, is a centre-right international alliance of conservative and liberal-conservative political parties. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, the IDU comprises 45 full or associate members...
, an umbrella-organization of moderate right-wing parties from many countries, including the Republican Party of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the British Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, and the Australian Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
.