COMMON ROLL, COMMUNAL ROLL, PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION: HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE SEARCH FOR A SUITABLE ELECTORAL SYSTEM FOR FIJI, 1968-1975

Two issues lay at the heart of the political debate in Fiji for much of the 20th century. One was the role and place of Fijian interests, values and institutions in the overall political architecture of the nation. The other was what electoral system was most appropriate for Fijis multi-ethnic society. On both these complex questions, opinion was sharply divided, leading to acrimonious debate and sometimes a complete breakdown in political dialogue between the major political parties. On the first question, Fijians believed, or were led to believe, that they had a special place in Fiji by virtue of their status as the indigenous people of the country. Their leaders argued that this had been formally recognised in the Deed of Cession by which Fiji had been ceded to the United Kingdom in 1874. There was no such undertaking given in the document itself, though the policy of indirect rule which the colonial government enunciated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ensured that in the management of their own internal affairs, Fijian interests were to remain paramount. It was a protective device, humane as well as pragmatic, designed to assure the indigenous community that their welfare was a priority for the government. Thus, the indigenous Fijians had their Council of Chiefs, a separate system of administration complete with its own Native Regulations, and a Programme of Work which kept them close to their roots in the subsistence sector under the overall guidance of the traditional authorities