Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei
Encyclopedia
The Fijian Political Party (better known by its initials SVT, which stand for its Fijian
name, Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei) is a party which dominated politics
in the 1990s and was the mainstay of coalition
governments from 1992 to 1999, but which is currently without representation in the House of Representatives
.
, with the declared goal of uniting all indigenous Fijians
. A new constitution
promulgated in 1990, following two military coups
in 1987, abolished the "national
" parliamentary seats elected by universal suffrage
(which had comprised almost half the House of Representatives); all members henceforth were to be elected by enrolled voters on "communal" electoral roles
that were limited to specific ethnic communities, each of which had an allocated number of seats in the House (37 indigenous Fijians
, 27 Indo-Fijians, 1 Rotuma
n, and 5 General Electors
(Europeans, Chinese, Banaban Islanders
, and other minorities). The end to multiracial voting resulted in a trend towards intracommunal politics, and multiracial parties like the old Fijian Alliance
of longtime Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
were therefore dissolved and replaced by parties representing principally a single ethnic group.
Ratu Mara had announced his intention not to contest the election
that was to be held in 1992, but his wife, Ro Lady Lala Mara
, a chief
in her own right as the Roko Tui Dreketi
, or Paramount Chief of Burebasaga
, one of three hierarchies to which all Fijian chiefs
belong in the House of Chiefs
, seemed a natural choice to lead a new party as the successor to his. In addition to the Great Council of Chiefs, the powerful Methodist Church
also endorsed the party.
Sitiveni Rabuka
, who had led the 1987 coups, joined the new party also, along with his supporters, and he soon out-maneuvered Ro Lala for the leadership and her family subsequently distanced themselves from the party. The SVT won the general election
of 1992, but the subsequent defection of six parliamentarians left it without a workable majority. Internal strife weakened the party, and many influential members of the Great Council of Chiefs grew disillusioned with it, as did the Methodist Church. Despite this, it won a plurality in the parliamentary election
that was called three years early, in 1994. Allegations of corruption eroded the popularity of the SVT-led government, which was heavily defeated in the general election
of 1999 by the People's Coalition
, taking just 8 of the 71 seats in the House of Representatives. Rabuka quit as leader of the party, and was followed by several short-lived leaders.
of 2000, former Foreign Minister Filipe Bole
assumed leadership of the party. It contested the election
held to restore democracy in 2001 on a platform of supporting the 1997 constitution with amendments, free public transport for school children, an increase in government spending to alleviate poverty, and promotion of community initiatives to end domestic violence. It also called for a return to of First past the post voting. These policies failed to stem the tide, and the SVT's share of the vote sank to just 5.5 percent, and it failed to win any seats. Much of the support it had previously enjoyed went to the new United Fiji Party of Laisenia Qarase
.
, under Bole's leadership. This party dissolved itself in April 2005 to join the new National Alliance Party of Fiji
, under the leadership of Ratu Epeli Ganilau
.
A rump of the SVT resisted the merger, and continues (as of 2005) to exist under the presidency of Rabuka. In May 2005, divisions appeared in the leadership of the party over the government's controversial proposal to establish a Reconciliation and Unity Commission
with the power to recommend amnesty
to perpetrators of the 2000 coup and compensation to its victims. Rabuka endorsed the proposal, as did executive member Militoni Leweniqila, but Ema Druavesi
, General Secretary of the SVT, spoke out against it, calling it a political ploy to retain the support of the Conservative Alliance
(CAMV), on whose six parliamentary votes the government depends for its majority. She also expressed concern that the bill interfered with the judicial system. Leweniqila, however, said that not only was the proposal nothing new, it was in fact one that Rabuka, on behalf of the SVT, had proposed as long ago as 2002. He added, however, that acknowledging the government of deposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry
as the lawful government of the land would be the right place to start.
, a daily newspaper, Josaia Waqabaca
and Maciu Navakasuasua
(who served a three-year prison term for coup-related offences) implicated some senior members of the SVT in the planning of the coup. Druavesi strongly denied that the party had been involved in any way whatsoever, and that if any SVT officials had participated in the plot, they must have done so as individuals, not as representatives of the party. She called on the police to interrogate those identified by Waqabaca and Navakasuasua, however, to determine the truth of the allegations.
On 26 June 2005, Druavesi made a stinging attack on the ruling United Fiji Party (SDL), accusing it of racism, corruption, and incompetence. Policies enacted supposedly for the benefit of indigenous Fijians had benefited only a few people with family or business ties to government leaders, she said. "Top posts and lucrative contracts were awarded to people who support the party," she alleged. Druavesi said she believed that the Fijian people, disappointed by the SDL-CAMV
coalition, would return to the SVT in the 2006 election.
Druavesi's attacks notwithstanding, Rabuka pursued negotiations with the SDL, and on 25 November Prime Minister Qarase confirmed that his own party would definitely be working with the SVT in the forthcoming election. He expected that one expression of cooperation between the SDL and the SVT, as members of the Grand Coalition, would be to exchange electoral preferences between themselves before going outside the group. Under Fiji's voting system, votes cast for low-polling candidates may be transferred to higher-polling candidates as agreed prior to the election.
Druavesi said on 23 February 2006 that the door was open for former members of the Conservative Alliance
, which was dissolved on the 18th, to join the SVT. Not all CAMV members had supported the merger of their party with the SDL, she told the Fiji Village
news service. She also revealed that the party had received more than a hundred written applications from persons willing to contest the 2006 election for the SVT.
The Fiji Sun
reported on 2 March that party officials had met the previous weekend and had decided to continue working as part of the Grand Coalition. The party would not disband or merge with another party, and would retain its identity, Druavesi said. This was because the party was an original one, not a breakaway from another party.
no seats.
Fijian language
Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 450,000 first-language speakers, which is less than half the population of Fiji, but another 200,000 speak it as a second language...
name, Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei) is a party which dominated politics
Politics of Fiji
Politics of Fiji takes place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. Fiji has a multi-party system with the Prime Minister of Fiji as head of government. The executive power is exercised by the government...
in the 1990s and was the mainstay of coalition
Coalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
governments from 1992 to 1999, but which is currently without representation in the House of Representatives
House of Representatives (Fiji)
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. It is the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone has the power to initiate legislation...
.
Origins
The party was founded in 1990 as the political vehicle of the Great Council of ChiefsGreat 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...
, with the declared goal of uniting all indigenous Fijians
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...
. A new constitution
Constitution of Fiji
The 1997 Constitution of Fiji was the supreme law of Fiji from its adoption in 1997 until 2009 when President Josefa Iloilo purported to abrogate it. It was also suspended for a period following the 2000 coup d'état led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama....
promulgated in 1990, following two military coups
Fiji coups of 1987
The Fiji coups of 1987 resulted in the overthrow of the elected government of Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and in the declaration of a republic...
in 1987, abolished the "national
National constituencies (Fiji)
National constituencies are a former feature of the Fijian electoral system. They were created as a compromise between demands for universal suffrage on a common voters' roll, and for a strictly communal franchise, with Parliamentary constituencies allocated on an ethnic basis and elected only by...
" parliamentary seats elected by universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
(which had comprised almost half the House of Representatives); all members henceforth were to be elected by enrolled voters on "communal" electoral roles
Communal constituencies (Fiji)
Communal constituencies have been the most durable feature of the Fijian electoral system. In communal constituencies, electors enrolled as ethnic Fijians, Indo-Fijians, Rotuman Islanders, or General Electors vote for a candidate of their own respective ethnic groups, in constituencies that have...
that were limited to specific ethnic communities, each of which had an allocated number of seats in the House (37 indigenous Fijians
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...
, 27 Indo-Fijians, 1 Rotuma
Rotuma
Rotuma is a Fijian dependency, consisting of Rotuma Island and nearby islets. The island group is home to a small but unique indigenous ethnic group which constitutes a recognizable minority within the population of Fiji, known as "Rotumans"...
n, and 5 General Electors
General Electors (Fiji)
"General Electors" is the term used in Fiji to identify citizens of voting age who belong, in most cases, to ethnic minorities. The Constitution defines General Electors as all Fiji citizens who are not registered as being of Fijian, Indian, or Rotuman descent. Also included are citizens who do...
(Europeans, Chinese, Banaban Islanders
Banaba Island
Banaba Island , an island in the Pacific Ocean, is a solitary raised coral island west of the Gilbert Island chain and 300 km east of Nauru. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. It has an area of 6.5 km², and the highest point on the island is also the highest point in Kiribati, at 81...
, and other minorities). The end to multiracial voting resulted in a trend towards intracommunal politics, and multiracial parties like the old Fijian Alliance
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 longtime 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...
were therefore dissolved and replaced by parties representing principally a single ethnic group.
Ratu Mara had announced his intention not to contest the election
Fiji election of 1992
General elections were held in Fiji between 23 and 30 May 1992. It was the first election held since two military coups in 1987 had severed Fiji's 113-year old constitutional links with the British Monarchy, and later Fijian Monarchy, and ushered in a republic.The 1992 elections were the first to...
that was to be held in 1992, but his wife, Ro Lady Lala Mara
Lala Mara
Ro Lala, Lady Mara, maiden name Litia Cakobau Lalabalavu Katoafutoga Tuisawau was a Fijian chief, who was better known as the widow of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, modern Fiji's founding father who served for many years as Prime Minister and President of his country...
, a chief
Adi (title)
Adi is a title used by Fijian women of chiefly rank, namely female members of chiefly clans. It is the equivalent of the Ratu title used by male chiefs. It is in general use throughout most of Fiji, although on Kadavu Island, Bulou is used instead....
in her own right as the Roko Tui Dreketi
Roko Tui Dreketi
The Roko Tui Dreketi is the Paramount Chief of Fiji's Rewa Province and of the Burebasaga Confederacy, to which Rewa belongs.-Details on the title:...
, or Paramount Chief of Burebasaga
Burebasaga Confederacy
Burebasaga is the largest of the three confederacies that make up Fiji's House of Chiefs, to which all Fijian chiefs belong.-Composition of Burebasaga:...
, one of three hierarchies to which all Fijian chiefs
Ratu
Ratu is a title used by Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, Adi is used by females of chiefly rank.-Etymology:Ra is a prefix in many titles and Tu is simply "chief"...
belong in the House of Chiefs
House of Chiefs (Fiji)
The term House of Chiefs is a collective term used to refer to the Fijian nobility, which consists of about seventy chiefs of various ranks. It is not a formal political body and should not be confused with the Great Council of Chiefs, which is a political body with a prescribed constitutional role...
, seemed a natural choice to lead a new party as the successor to his. In addition to the Great Council of Chiefs, the powerful Methodist Church
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
also endorsed the party.
In government
Major GeneralMajor General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
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...
, who had led the 1987 coups, joined the new party also, along with his supporters, and he soon out-maneuvered Ro Lala for the leadership and her family subsequently distanced themselves from the party. The SVT won the general election
Fiji election of 1992
General elections were held in Fiji between 23 and 30 May 1992. It was the first election held since two military coups in 1987 had severed Fiji's 113-year old constitutional links with the British Monarchy, and later Fijian Monarchy, and ushered in a republic.The 1992 elections were the first to...
of 1992, but the subsequent defection of six parliamentarians left it without a workable majority. Internal strife weakened the party, and many influential members of the Great Council of Chiefs grew disillusioned with it, as did the Methodist Church. Despite this, it won a plurality in the parliamentary election
Fiji election of 1994
General elections were held in Fiji between 18 and 25 February 1994. This election, the second since Fiji had become a republic following two military coups in 1987, was brought about by splits within the ruling Fijian Political Party and by the withdrawal of the support of the Fiji Labour Party,...
that was called three years early, in 1994. Allegations of corruption eroded the popularity of the SVT-led government, which was heavily defeated in the general election
Fiji election of 1999
General elections were held in Fiji between 8 and 15 May 1999. They were the first election held under the revised Constitution of 1997, which instituted a new electoral system and resulted in Mahendra Chaudhry taking office as Fiji's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister.-Electoral system:Previously,...
of 1999 by the People's Coalition
People's Coalition (Fiji)
The People's Coalition was an alliance of three political parties in Fiji, formed in March 1999 to contest the parliamentary election to be held in May that year...
, taking just 8 of the 71 seats in the House of Representatives. Rabuka quit as leader of the party, and was followed by several short-lived leaders.
In opposition
Following the coup d'étatFiji coup of 2000
The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of a non-native Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and...
of 2000, former Foreign Minister Filipe Bole
Filipe Bole
Filipe Nagera Bole is a Fijian politician who hails from the village of Mualevu on the island of Vanuabalavu in the Lau Group. He has long had a reputation as one of Fiji's few politicians untainted by scandal, and is noted for his moderate views...
assumed leadership of the party. It contested the election
Fiji election of 2001
The Constitution of Fiji was restored by a High Court decision on 15 November 2000, following the failure of the political upheaval in which the government had been deposed and the constitution suspended in May that year. On 1 March 2001, the Appeal Court upheld the decision. An election to...
held to restore democracy in 2001 on a platform of supporting the 1997 constitution with amendments, free public transport for school children, an increase in government spending to alleviate poverty, and promotion of community initiatives to end domestic violence. It also called for a return to of First past the post voting. These policies failed to stem the tide, and the SVT's share of the vote sank to just 5.5 percent, and it failed to win any seats. Much of the support it had previously enjoyed went to the new United Fiji Party of Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase is a Fijian political figure. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase joined the Interim Military Government as a financial adviser on 9 June 2000, until his appointment...
.
Post-2001 developments
In June 2002, many members of the party merged with a number of other parties to form the Fiji Democratic PartyFiji Democratic Party
The Fiji Democratic Party is a former political party in Fiji, which operated between June 2002 and April 2005.It was founded by Filipe Bole, a former Cabinet Minister, as a merger of the Fijian Political Party , the Fijian Association Party, the Christian Democratic Alliance, and the New Labour...
, under Bole's leadership. This party dissolved itself in April 2005 to join the new 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...
, under the leadership of Ratu Epeli Ganilau
Epeli 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...
.
A rump of the SVT resisted the merger, and continues (as of 2005) to exist under the presidency of Rabuka. In May 2005, divisions appeared in the leadership of the party over the government's controversial proposal to establish a Reconciliation and Unity Commission
Reconciliation and Unity Commission (Fiji)
The Reconciliation and Unity Commission is a proposed government body to be set up if the Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, which was introduced into the Fijian Parliament on 4 May 2005 is passed...
with the power to recommend amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
to perpetrators of the 2000 coup and compensation to its victims. Rabuka endorsed the proposal, as did executive member Militoni Leweniqila, but Ema Druavesi
Ema Druavesi
Ema Druavesi is a Fijian political organizer, who currently serves as General Secretary of the Fijian Political Party, officially known by its Fijian name, Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei, or SVT.-References:...
, General Secretary of the SVT, spoke out against it, calling it a political ploy to retain the support of the Conservative Alliance
Conservative Alliance (Fiji)
The Conservative Alliance was a far-right political party in Fiji, and a member of the ruling coalition government. It was commonly known as the CAMV, a combination of the initials of its English and Fijian names...
(CAMV), on whose six parliamentary votes the government depends for its majority. She also expressed concern that the bill interfered with the judicial system. Leweniqila, however, said that not only was the proposal nothing new, it was in fact one that Rabuka, on behalf of the SVT, had proposed as long ago as 2002. He added, however, that acknowledging the government of deposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Pal Chaudhry is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party...
as the lawful government of the land would be the right place to start.
Coup allegations
Towards the end of 2005, the SVT found itself fending off allegations relating to the 2000 coup. In interviews with the Fiji SunFiji Sun
The Fiji Sun is a daily newspaper published in Fiji. Owned by Sun News Limited, it was first published in September 1999. An internet edition is also published....
, a daily newspaper, Josaia Waqabaca
Josaia Waqabaca
Josaia Waqabaca is a Fijian public figure and former political organizer, who has become a police informant about the Fiji coup of 2000. Waqabaca was convicted and imprisoned in 2001 for plotting to kidnap the Military Commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, in 2000.A former official of the...
and Maciu Navakasuasua
Maciu Navakasuasua
Maciu Navakasuasua is a Fijian public figure and former political organizer. An explosives expert, Navakasuasua said that on behalf of the Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party, an extremist party which advocated the "repatriation" to India of Indo-Fijians, two prominent businessmen had tried to hire...
(who served a three-year prison term for coup-related offences) implicated some senior members of the SVT in the planning of the coup. Druavesi strongly denied that the party had been involved in any way whatsoever, and that if any SVT officials had participated in the plot, they must have done so as individuals, not as representatives of the party. She called on the police to interrogate those identified by Waqabaca and Navakasuasua, however, to determine the truth of the allegations.
Towards 2006 election
- See main article: Fiji election of 2006Fiji election of 2006The Constitution of Fiji requires general elections for the House of Representatives to be held at least once every five years. The latest election was held on 6-13 May 2006. Acting President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi issued a proclamation on 2 March, effective from 27 March, dissolving Parliament...
.
On 26 June 2005, Druavesi made a stinging attack on the ruling United Fiji Party (SDL), accusing it of racism, corruption, and incompetence. Policies enacted supposedly for the benefit of indigenous Fijians had benefited only a few people with family or business ties to government leaders, she said. "Top posts and lucrative contracts were awarded to people who support the party," she alleged. Druavesi said she believed that the Fijian people, disappointed by the SDL-CAMV
Conservative Alliance (Fiji)
The Conservative Alliance was a far-right political party in Fiji, and a member of the ruling coalition government. It was commonly known as the CAMV, a combination of the initials of its English and Fijian names...
coalition, would return to the SVT in the 2006 election.
Druavesi's attacks notwithstanding, Rabuka pursued negotiations with the SDL, and on 25 November Prime Minister Qarase confirmed that his own party would definitely be working with the SVT in the forthcoming election. He expected that one expression of cooperation between the SDL and the SVT, as members of the Grand Coalition, would be to exchange electoral preferences between themselves before going outside the group. Under Fiji's voting system, votes cast for low-polling candidates may be transferred to higher-polling candidates as agreed prior to the election.
Druavesi said on 23 February 2006 that the door was open for former members of the Conservative Alliance
Conservative Alliance (Fiji)
The Conservative Alliance was a far-right political party in Fiji, and a member of the ruling coalition government. It was commonly known as the CAMV, a combination of the initials of its English and Fijian names...
, which was dissolved on the 18th, to join the SVT. Not all CAMV members had supported the merger of their party with the SDL, she told the Fiji Village
Fiji Village
The Fiji Village is an online news service in Fiji. Published daily, it covers political, business, sporting, cultural, and other news items, and also includes the Yellow Bucket commentary, an editorial which does not necessarily reflect the views of the Fiji Village owners or staff, according to...
news service. She also revealed that the party had received more than a hundred written applications from persons willing to contest the 2006 election for the SVT.
The Fiji Sun
Fiji Sun
The Fiji Sun is a daily newspaper published in Fiji. Owned by Sun News Limited, it was first published in September 1999. An internet edition is also published....
reported on 2 March that party officials had met the previous weekend and had decided to continue working as part of the Grand Coalition. The party would not disband or merge with another party, and would retain its identity, Druavesi said. This was because the party was an original one, not a breakaway from another party.
Election result
The party won at the Fiji election of 2006Fiji election of 2006
The Constitution of Fiji requires general elections for the House of Representatives to be held at least once every five years. The latest election was held on 6-13 May 2006. Acting President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi issued a proclamation on 2 March, effective from 27 March, dissolving Parliament...
no seats.