Fiji’s Parliament today voted against a Bill that sought to lower the threshold for amending the 2013 Constitution after the Coalition Government failed to secure the required 75% majority (41 votes) to allow it to proceed to the next stage.
It fell short by a vote, amassing 40 in support (including Opposition MPs Sachida Nand and Shalen Kumar), 14 against, 1 “No,” and one MP who did not vote— which came after about 11 hours of debate, during which MPs from both sides of the House voiced their support or opposition to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2025.
Introduced by Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka last week, the Bill proposed to lower the parliamentary threshold for constitutional changes from three-quarters to two-thirds and remove the requirement for a national referendum.
However, the Bill was defeated after it fell short of the required majority as prescribed in Standing Order 93(1)(b).
Sanjay Kirpal, one of four Opposition members—alongside Nand, Kumar, and Rinesh Sharma—who supported the Government’s motion last week for the Bill’s first reading, did not vote as he was absent during the vote this evening. Sharma, on the other hand, had made his position clear earlier in the day by choosing not to support the Bill. He voted with the Opposition.
In his ruling, Speaker of Parliament Filimone Jitoko stated that since the number of votes in favour of the Bill was 40 and not 41, the Bill could not proceed and was therefore defeated.
“It ends here.”
Related Articles:
Fiji Opposition MP Supports and Defends Government Constitution Amendment Bill
Support Amendment Bill To Allow for Open Discussion on 2013 Constitution: Fiji AG
Fiji Constitution Needs Change, But Process Lacks Transparency, Says Independent Opposition MP
Fiji Government Will Not “Dictate or Impose” Constitutional Amendments
Bill To Amend 2013 Constitution to be Tabled in Parliament
Fiji Pledges to Attain A Rating in Human Rights Commission Despite Constitutional Challenges
GCC Discusses Legal Reform and Calls for Review of 2013 Constitution
Fiji’s PM Rabuka Calls for Constitutional Reform as Electoral Landscape Shifts
2013 Constitution Review Futile Without Discussing Past Events Including Coups: Seruiratu
Fiji 2013 Constitution bias, and not unifying, warrants urgent review: Naupoto
