Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Fiji became independent in October 1970, adopting a constitution which in practice involved a compromise between the principles of parliamentary democracy and the racial divisions within the country. This constitution (which guaranteed the minority Fijian population a majority of seats) kept the Alliance Party in power for seventeen years, until the Indian-dominated National Federation Party joined in coalition with the new Labour Party and won the 1987 elections. An army coup followed which restored control to the leaders of the indigenous population and set the tone for politics up to the present day, with the native Fijians attempting through constitutional changes and further coups to prevent the assertion of majority rule. The material in this collection deals mainly with the electoral struggles prior to 1987, the main issues being race, the constitution and the labour movement.