September 10, 2013

Opposition highlights Fiji constitution can be changed by decree

Posted at 07:41 on 09 September, 2013 UTC

The United Front for a Democratic Fiji says the Fiji constitution’s amendment process demands an explanation from the Fiji regime.

The constitution came into force on Friday and up until the end of this year, can be amended by decree.

It states changes can be made in order to give full effect to its provisions or to rectify any inconsistencies or errors and the cabinet would first need to get certification from the Supreme Court.

But a spokesman for the United Front for a Democratic Fiji, Mick Beddoes, says if the people of Fiji want changes, they would have to wait for a parliamentary bill to be passed by three quarters of the house, and a referendum of registered voters.

“Where’s the value of 380 thousand people having to all agree to say yes first while eleven of them who are unelected, unrepresented, can make the change anyway in the comfort of their air-conditioned cabinet boardroom while the rest have to go through a national referendum?”

Mick Beddoes of the United Front for a Democratic Fiji.

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