[Photo: FILE]

Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica says it is too early to determine whether Fiji’s next general election could be affected by the constitutional reform process.

He has not ruled out a change to the election timetable.

Speaking after the Constitutional Review Commission’s report was tabled in Parliament today, Kamikamica said the Coalition Government now had several stages to complete, including Cabinet consideration, parliamentary debate and further consultation with the public before any referendum.

Asked directly whether the election could be delayed if the constitutional process takes longer than expected, Kamikamica did not rule it out.

“At this stage, we need to allow a new process to start. So next week we’re in parliament. Cabinet, as I said, is sitting today.”

Kamikamica said the Constitutional Review Commission had completed its work after six months but argued that the proposed Constitution was not the product of those six months alone.

He pointed to Fiji’s previous constitutional arrangements, including the 1970 and 1990 Constitutions, the 1997 Constitution, the Yash Ghai Commission report and the 2013 Constitution, saying all had contributed to the document now before Parliament.

Kamikamica said the six-month review process should therefore be viewed in the context of the wider constitutional history and work that had already taken place.

The next step, he said, was for Cabinet to consider the Commission’s report before a Bill is brought to Parliament next week for debate.

This would then be followed by another period of public consultation before the country proceeds towards a referendum.

Kamikamica stressed that Fiji had not yet reached the referendum stage.

He said Government would first need to hear from the people on the proposed Constitution before moving further through the process.

The Deputy Prime Minister also acknowledged that the coalition Government had taken time to begin the constitutional review after coming into office.

He said the coalition initially did not have the numbers in Parliament to begin the process, but that had since changed.

Kamikamica said the government now had the numbers required to move the constitutional process forward.

However, the process itself will require additional time.

He said there would be about 30 days of further consultation with the people of Fiji before the Government moves to the next stage.

On the next general election, Kamikamica referred to previous statements by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka that the election would be held within the constitutional period.

But he stopped short of confirming a specific election date or ruling out any change to the timetable.

He said he would leave any further announcement on the election schedule to the Prime Minister.

Kamikamica was also asked whether he would support an election being held beyond the constitutional timeframe if more time was needed to complete the constitutional reform process.

Again, he did not give a direct commitment.

Instead, he said the Government’s immediate focus should be on the constitutional process now before it.

While Kamikamica has left the election question unresolved, Deputy Prime Minister and SODELPA leader Viliame Gavoka says the government believes it can build support for the proposed constitutional changes through further dialogue.

“The tabling has happened today. In the course of the next few days, a lot of dialogue will take place and we believe that we can convince everyone that this is the way we need to go.”

Gavoka said constitutional reform had been part of Fiji’s national dialogue since 2013.

He described the 2013 constitutional process as a rushed exercise that was imposed on the country, and said the current consultation process had been more inclusive.

Gavoka said people across Fiji had been allowed to participate and that the resulting document reflected what people wanted the country to be.