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Past three constitutions were weak: Council

September 12, 2012 5:11 am

The main weakness of the past three constitutions is that none of them was designed to last.

That was part of the submission by the Lau Provincial Council to the Constitution Commission at the Suva Civic Centre.

Chair Filipe Bole submitted that the 1970 constitution was an experiment designed to test multiracialism in Fiji, and so devised a complicated voting system where each elector had multiple votes.

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He says the 1990 constitution was designed to serve one purpose only and that was to return the country to parliamentary rule.

And he says the 1997 constitution repeated the mistake of the 1970 constitution by recreating national seats, reintroducing racial elections and giving each elector more than one vote in elections.

As well the Council is calling for the providing of basic necessities clean drinking water, electricity, infrastructure, transport and communication, social facilities like hospitals, schools and housing as well as economic development opportunities for citizens who cannot look after themselves.

Amongst other things the Council has called for Fiji to remain a secular state, elected councils for Tikina, municipalities and government, for Tikina and Provincial Councils to be open to all races, an independent judiciary, a common name for all Fiji citizens and Fiji to be called by its i-taukei name Viti.