1987 Fijian general election

General elections were held in Fiji between 4 and 11 April 1987.[1] They marked the first electoral transition of power in Fijian history. Despite receiving just under 50% of the vote, the Alliance Party of longtime prime minister, Kamisese Mara was defeated by a coalition of the Fiji Labour Party (contesting a general election for the first time) and National Federation Party, which won 28 seats to the Alliance's 24. The Labour Party's Timoci Bavadra became prime minister.

1987 Fijian general election

← 1982 4–11 April 1987 1992 →

All 52 seats in the House of Representatives
26 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Timoci Bavadra Kamisese Mara
Party FLPNFP Alliance
Last election 22 seats 28 seats
Seats won 28 24
Seat change Increase 6 Decrease 4
Popular vote 461,056 484,543
Percentage 47.07% 49.46%
Swing Increase 5.86pp Decrease 2.33pp

Prime Minister before election

Kamisese Mara
Alliance

Elected Prime Minister

Timoci Bavadra
Labour

Bavadra's 28-member parliamentary caucus included only seven ethnic Fijians, all of them elected with predominantly Indo-Fijian support from national constituencies. His fourteen-member cabinet included six Fijians, seven Indo-Fijians and one European. Effective Indo-Fijian control of the government caused widespread resentment among the ethnic Fijian community, and after less than a month in office, the new government was deposed on 14 May in a coup d'état led by Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka.

Electoral system

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The 52 members of the House of Representatives were elected from two types of constituency, with candidature in each limited to one of three ethnic groups; Fijians, Indo-Fijians and General electors, generally of European or Chinese descent.

Twenty-seven members were elected from communal constituencies (12 Fijians, 12 Indo-Fijians and 3 general) in which voters voted for someone of their own ethnicity, with the remaining twenty-five elected from national constituencies (10 Fijian, 10 Indo-Fijian and 5 general) in which candidature was limited by ethnicity but all registered voters in a constituency could vote for.

Results

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PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Alliance Party484,54349.4624−4
FLPNFP461,05647.0728+6
Fijian Nationalist Party14,4841.4800
Western United Front8,3390.850−2
National Federation Party-Koya4,4620.460New
Independents6,7230.6900
Total979,607100.00520
Valid votes979,60797.78
Invalid/blank votes22,2382.22
Total ballots cast250,968
Registered voters/turnout353,69170.96
Source: Nohlen et al.

Aftermath

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Following the elections Bavadra formed a fourteen-member cabinet.[2]

Bavadra cabinet
Position Minister
Prime Minister
Minister for Public Service
Minister for Fijian Affairs
Minister for Home Affairs
Timoci Bavadra
Deputy Prime Minister
Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs
Minister for Information
Harish Sharma
Attorney General
Minister for Justice
Jai Ram Reddy
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Joeli Nacola
Minister for Communications, Transport and Works Ahmed Bhamji
Minister for Education, Youth and Sport Tupeni Baba
Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Mahendra Chaudhry
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Civil Aviation Krishna Datt
Minister for Health and Social Welfare Satendra Nandan
Minister for Labour and Immigration Joeli Kalou
Minister for Lands, Energy and Mineral Resources Mosese Volavola
Minister for Trade, Industry and Tourism Navin Maharaj
Minister of State for Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs Chris Herbert
Minister of State for Rural Development, Rehabilitation and Relief Temo Sukanaivalu

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p653 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
  2. ^ Fiji's younger and smaller cabinet Pacific Islands Monthly, June 1987, p20