Rabuka Leaves Decision on Fiji’s Secular Status to Parliament

Fiji’s constitutional status as a secular state will not be decided by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka alone. Rabuka says the final choice belongs to Parliament, after Cabinet considers recommendations from the Constitutional Review Commission.

The commission proposed changes to Fiji’s Constitution, including the provision that defines the country as secular. Rabuka said the recommendations presented to the President reflected views gathered from Fijians during the review process.

The next step is for Cabinet to consider the recommendations and turn them into an amendment bill. The bill would then go before Parliament and a committee working with its drafters. Rabuka said the people’s views and the commission’s recommendations would be incorporated into the legislation.

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Those will have to be considered by Cabinet and the final outcome will be the vote in Parliament.

Rabuka has previously spoken openly about his Christian faith and his views on Fiji’s identity. He said the constitutional review process must now proceed, and urged Fijians and political leaders to approach the issue responsibly rather than turning it into a religious or political confrontation.

The commission’s recommendations therefore do not yet change Fiji’s Constitution. Any amendment will require the legislative process and a final vote in Parliament.

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All the recommendations, the views of the people are put into the bill, the amendment bill.