• The Honourable Prime Minister,
• Cabinet Ministers,
• The Chairperson and Members of the Constitution Review Commission,
• Members of the Commission Secretariat,
• Distinguished Guests,
• Ladies and Gentlemen.
Ni sa Bula Vina’a and a very Good Morning to you all.
I thank you for your presence at State House on this important occasion.
At the outset, I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land upon which we gather today and pay my respects to their chiefs, elders and people, past and present.
Today marks an important milestone in Fiji’s continuing constitutional and democratic journey.
It is a moment not simply for the presentation of a report, but for reflection – reflection on where we have come from as a nation, what we have learned from our constitutional history, what our people have told us during this review, and what kind of constitutional inheritance we wish to leave to our children and grand-children.
A Constitution is more than a collection of legal provisions. It establishes the institutions through which we govern ourselves.
It defines the relationship between those who exercise public power, and the citizens from whom that authority ultimately comes. It protects rights and freedoms. It establishes responsibilities.
And, importantly, it expresses something about who we are as a people and the principles by which we choose to live together as one nation.
For these reasons, constitutional reform must never be treated simply as a legal, political or parliamentary exercise.
At its heart, it is about people.
It is about the kind of country in which we want our children to grow up. It is about whether a citizen feels that his or her voice matters. It is about whether public institutions can be trusted. It is about whether power is exercised responsibly and accountably.
It is about whether the rights and dignity of every person are protected. And it is about whether, despite the differences that make up our nation, we can continue to build a peaceful, democratic and united Fiji.
On 13 March 2026, pursuant to the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1946, I caused a Commission to be issued under my hand and the Seal of the Republic of Fiji establishing the Constitution Review Commission.
In doing so, I placed considerable trust and confidence in the Chairperson and Commissioners and entrusted them with a responsibility of profound national importance.
Today, I wish to acknowledge the Chairperson, Mr. Sevuloni Ratumaiyale Valenitabua, and Commissioners Ms. Merewalesi Nailatikau, Dr. Neelesh Gounder, Dr. John Charles Fatiaki, Mr. Conway Beg and Mr. Ami Kohli, together with Dr. Salanieta Leiloma Bakalevu, who accepted the responsibility of joining the Commission and contributing to the completion of this important national exercise.
I also acknowledge Dr. Unaisi Baba for the contribution she made during her tenure as a Commissioner.
To each of you, I extend the appreciation of our Nation. The responsibility placed upon you was not an easy one. Constitutional questions rarely produce simple answers.
You were required to listen to different, and sometimes strongly competing views. You were required to consider matters shaped by our history, our culture, our politics, our institutions, and the experiences of different communities.
You were required to separate emotion from evidence, without ignoring the very real emotions that accompany Fiji’s constitutional history.
You had to listen respectfully to those who wanted significant change, those who preferred limited change, and those who questioned whether change was necessary at all.
You then had to bring those perspectives together and exercise your independent judgement in preparing recommendations for the nation. That was a substantial responsibility.
On behalf of our citizens, I thank you for accepting it and for completing the mandate entrusted to you.
I also acknowledge the Secretariat, officials and all those who supported the Commission in carrying out its work.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is important that our people understand why Fiji embarked upon this constitutional review.
The review of a Constitution should never be undertaken lightly. Our Constitution is our supreme law. Stability in constitutional government is important, and constitutional change should not be driven by temporary political advantage or by the interests of any individual, Government, political party or generation.
At the same time, constitutional stability must not be confused with constitutional immobility.
A Constitution must be capable of responding, through lawful and democratic means, to the changing needs and aspirations of the society it serves.
The 2013 Constitution has now operated for more than a decade. It contains important provisions concerning equal citizenship, fundamental rights and freedoms, democratic government and public institutions.
A review of the Constitution should therefore not be understood as a rejection of everything contained within it.
Good constitutional reform preserves what continues to serve the nation well, strengthens what can be improved, and addresses provisions that experience has shown may no longer adequately serve the democratic aspirations of the people.
Our recent constitutional jurisprudence has also required Fiji to confront important questions concerning the democratic character of the Constitution and, particularly, the ability of citizens and their elected representatives to participate meaningfully in determining their constitutional future.
These are matters that go directly to the principle that constitutional authority ultimately belongs to the people.
The Constitution must therefore provide not only stability, but legitimacy.
Not only authority, but accountability. Not only rights written on paper, but institutions capable of protecting those rights.
And not only government, but democratic government that earns and retains the confidence of the people.
There is another reason this review matters. For many ordinary citizens, constitutional discussion can sometimes appear distant from everyday life.
A farmer in the rural areas, a market vendor, a teacher, a young graduate seeking employment, a worker supporting a family, a business owner, a person living with a disability, or a family in one of our maritime islands may reasonably ask: “What does the Constitution mean for me?”
The answer is that the Constitution establishes the rules under which decisions affecting all these citizens are made.
It determines how public power is exercised. It protects their freedoms. It establishes their democratic voice. It influences whether public institutions are accountable. It determines how representatives are elected. It provides the foundation upon which laws affecting their communities, livelihoods and futures are made.
The Constitution therefore belongs not merely to lawyers, judges, politicians or public officials.
It belongs to the people. And because it belongs to the people, the people must have a meaningful place in considering its future.
This brings me to the Terms of Reference under which the Commission has undertaken its work.
The Terms of Reference were not a procedural formality. They were the Commission’s mandate, its boundaries and its responsibility to the people of Fiji.
They identified the fundamental issues upon which the Commission was required to inquire, consult, evaluate and report.
Among other matters, the Commission was tasked with engaging the people of Fiji in meaningful consultation and examining whether the Constitution’s provisions remain effective, relevant and appropriate to our circumstances and aspirations.
The Commission was required to consider questions concerning governance, rights and accountability.
It was required to consider the perspectives of Fiji’s diverse communities, including those whose voices may not always be prominent in national debate.
The Terms of Reference required consideration of fundamental rights and freedoms and the relationship between individual rights, group rights and Fiji’s obligations under internationally recognised human rights principles.
They required examination of the system of government, parliamentary representation and electoral arrangements.
They addressed the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary and important State institutions.
They required appropriate consideration of the rights, interests and concerns of the indigenous iTaukei and Rotuman people, including matters relating to land, customary fishing rights and resources, while at the same time ensuring full respect for the rights and legitimate interests of all Fiji’s communities.
The Terms of Reference also enabled consideration of the constitutional place and role of the Great Council of Chiefs in the affairs of the State.
These are substantial matters. They demonstrate why the constitutional review could never properly be reduced to an argument over one provision, one institution, one community or one political question.
The purpose of the Terms of Reference was to provide a framework within which Fiji could have a serious national conversation about the constitutional foundations of our democracy. They were also important for accountability. The public had a right to know what the Commission had been asked to examine.
The Commission, in turn, had a responsibility to remain within its mandate.
And now that the Report has been completed, the Terms of Reference provide an important benchmark against which the work and recommendations of the Commission may be considered.
The Terms of Reference were therefore not intended to predetermine the answers. They provided the questions and the framework within which the Commission could listen, inquire and ultimately exercise its independent judgement.
Chairperson and Commissioners, the true value of this exercise cannot be measured simply by the number of meetings held, kilometres travelled, submissions received or pages written.
The real measure is whether the people of Fiji had a genuine opportunity to speak – and whether they can recognise their concerns, hopes and aspirations in the work that has emerged from that process.
Consultation must never become a box-ticking exercise.
To consult is to listen.
And meaningful listening requires more than simply giving people an opportunity to speak.
It means making a genuine effort to understand why they hold the views they do.
It means listening to citizens who may not possess legal knowledge or technical vocabulary but who understand, through lived experience, what fairness, security, representation, dignity and belonging mean to them.
A villager may express constitutional concerns differently from a constitutional lawyer.
A young person may see the future differently from someone who lived through Fiji’s earlier political upheavals.
A person in Rotuma or the maritime islands may view representation differently from someone living in Suva.
Women, persons with disabilities, workers, businesspeople, faith communities, civil society organisations, landowners, tenants, farmers and young Fijians may each approach constitutional questions from different experiences.
None of those experiences should automatically be dismissed because they differ from our own. That is why consultation matters.
And that is why the people must be able to see that their participation was meaningful.
This does not mean that every submission can or should become a constitutional provision.
That would neither be practical nor responsible. There will inevitably be conflicting proposals.
The Commission has had to evaluate those views against constitutional principles, the rule of law, democratic practice, human rights, good governance and the long-term national interest.
But even where a particular proposal is not recommended, citizens are entitled to confidence that their views were heard respectfully and considered seriously.
People need not always have their preferred outcome to have confidence in a process – but they must believe that the process heard them fairly.
That principle should continue to guide every stage that follows today’s presentation.
My Fellow Fijians, perhaps nowhere is the importance of this constitutional review greater than in the continuing task of building unity within our diverse nation.
Fiji is home to people of different ethnicities, cultures, religions, languages, traditions and historical experiences.
We are an island nation made up of many communities. That diversity should never be regarded as a weakness to be managed. It is part of who we are.
But history also reminds us that differences can become sources of division when people feel excluded, ignored or insecure about their place in the nation.
Our constitutional journey has at different times reflected those tensions. We cannot change our history. But we can learn from it.
And one of the most important lessons is that national unity cannot be achieved simply by declaring that differences do not exist. Unity does not require uniformity.
We do not have to surrender our identity, culture, faith, history or traditions in order to belong equally to Fiji.
Our challenge is to build a constitutional order strong enough to recognise legitimate differences while ensuring that every citizen enjoys equal dignity, protection and opportunity.
Equality must bring us together. Recognition of history must not drive us apart.
Protection of indigenous rights must coexist with the protection of the rights of every other community.
Individual rights and community interests must be approached with wisdom and balance.
Our Constitution should provide a home large enough for all our people.
It should assure an iTaukei landowner that legitimate rights and interests will be protected.
It should assure the Rotuman community that its distinctive identity and interests have a secure place within our Republic.
It should assure Indo-Fijians and members of every minority community that they belong fully and equally to this country.
It should assure every woman and girl that equality is real.
It should assure every young person that Fiji’s institutions belong to their generation as much as to those who came before them.
And it should assure every citizen, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, economic circumstances, political opinion or geographic location, that the law protects their dignity.
This is the kind of unity we should seek. Not a unity created by silence. Not unity imposed from above. But unity built upon fairness, mutual respect, security, dialogue and a shared commitment to Fiji.
Our diversity is our strength; our unity must remain our common purpose.
As this Report now enters its next stage, there will undoubtedly be strong views about its recommendations. That is legitimate.
Constitutional democracy does not require everyone to agree.
Indeed, disagreement conducted peacefully and respectfully is one of the signs of a functioning democracy.
But I appeal to all who participate in the national discussion ahead – Government, Opposition, political parties, community leaders, civil society, academics, the media and individual citizens – to approach this moment with maturity.
Let us debate ideas without questioning each other’s belonging. Let us challenge proposals without attacking people. Let us learn from history without becoming prisoners of history. Let us resist misinformation and deliberate attempts to create fear between communities.
And let us remember that, when the debate is finished, we must continue living together as neighbours, colleagues, friends and fellow citizens.
A constitutional review intended to strengthen democracy must not become an instrument for deepening division.
Rather, it should become an opportunity to demonstrate that Fiji has matured sufficiently to confront difficult questions openly, respectfully and peacefully.
Today, I formally receive the Report of the Constitution Review Commission.
Its presentation represents the completion of an important stage – but it is not the end of Fiji’s constitutional journey.
I wish to be equally clear about what today’s ceremony does and does not represent.
My receipt of this Report does not constitute Presidential endorsement of every recommendation contained within it.
Nor are the Commission’s recommendations, simply by being presented today, amendments to the Constitution.
The Commission was appointed to undertake an independent inquiry, consult the people and make findings and recommendations. It has now discharged that responsibility.
The Report must proceed through the appropriate constitutional, governmental, parliamentary and democratic processes. The distinction is important.
No single individual and no single institution should own Fiji’s constitutional future. The Constitution is too important for that.
Government will have its responsibilities. Parliament will have its responsibilities.
And ultimately, where the law requires the direct participation of the people, the people themselves must be able to exercise that responsibility freely and with a clear understanding of the issues before them.
Parliament, in particular, will carry a significant responsibility. It is the national forum in which the elected representatives of our people deliberate upon matters of national importance.
As I stated when opening Parliament earlier this year, history will judge Parliament not merely by the sharpness of its debate, but by the wisdom of its outcomes.
There can be few matters requiring greater wisdom than consideration of the supreme law of our Republic.
For that reason, public participation cannot end today. The submission of this Report should not close the conversation with the people. If proposals for constitutional amendments emerge from the Report, our citizens should have adequate opportunity to understand what is proposed.
They must be told not only what might change, but why change is proposed and what the consequences may be.
That will require transparency. It will require civic education.
It will require information presented in clear and accessible language. It will require opportunities for rural and maritime communities as well as urban centres to participate.
It will require engagement with young people and those who may be voting for the first time. It will require responsible reporting by the media and responsible use of social media.
Most importantly, it will require time for citizens to think, ask questions, discuss and make informed decisions.
Our people must remain participants in constitutional reform, not become observers of decisions made on their behalf.
The credibility of the final outcome will depend not only upon the substance of constitutional amendments, but upon the integrity of the process through which those amendments are developed and considered.
Our constitutional history has taught us that how constitutional change occurs matters just as much as what constitutional change ultimately contains.
A Constitution designed to uphold the rule of law must itself be changed according to law.
A Constitution intended to strengthen democracy should emerge through democratic processes.
A Constitution intended to unite our nation should be shaped through processes that respect the voices, dignity and rights of all our communities.
And a Constitution intended to endure must command confidence beyond the Government or Parliament that happens to be in office when it is considered.
Ladies and Gentlemen, there is a tendency in political debate to consider issues according to the immediate moment.
Constitution-making requires a much longer view. The decisions that may ultimately emerge from this Report will extend beyond the tenure of this President.
They will extend beyond the tenure of the present Prime Minister and Government. They will extend beyond the present Parliament.
The constitutional institutions we strengthen today will be inherited by Governments we cannot yet identify, political parties that may not yet exist and generations not yet born.
That reality should bring humility to everyone involved. None of us owns the future. We are merely its temporary custodians.
Our responsibility is therefore to ask not simply:
“What constitutional arrangement suits us today?”
But:
“What constitutional order will best protect democracy, peace, rights, accountability, stability and national unity for Fiji in the decades ahead?”
A good Constitution should be strong enough to restrain those who exercise power and fair enough to protect those who do not.
It should work in calm times and in difficult times.
It should endure political disagreement. And it should provide peaceful institutions through which the people can resolve their differences.
That is the responsibility before us.
Honourable Prime Minister, Members of Cabinet, Chairperson and Commissioners, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, today we reach an important point in Fiji’s shared national journey.
To the Chairperson and members of the Constitution Review Commission:
You accepted a difficult responsibility. You travelled. You listened. You received submissions. You deliberated.
And today, you have reported.
On behalf of the Republic of Fiji, I thank you for your service.
To every Fijian who attended a consultation, made a written submission, participated through a community or organisation, or simply took the time to discuss the constitutional future of our country: I thank you.
Whatever position you took, your willingness to participate matters.
Democracy is strengthened when citizens care enough about their country to make their voices heard.
To those who may feel that their voices were not sufficiently heard, I also say this: The constitutional conversation must continue.
There will be further responsibilities ahead and further opportunities for the people to understand and engage with whatever proposals emerge from this Report.
To the Honourable Prime Minister and Members of Cabinet, this Report now proceeds to the next stage of consideration.
Thereafter, Parliament will carry its responsibility. And where the constitutional process ultimately requires the direct voice of the people, the citizens of Fiji will carry theirs.
May we approach those responsibilities not as adversaries defending narrow interests, but as custodians of something larger than ourselves.
Let us remember that a Constitution should not belong to a Government. It should not belong to a political party. It should not belong to one ethnic community, one province, one religion, one institution or one generation.
It must belong to the people of Fiji.
May this Report therefore be received in the spirit in which a national constitutional review ought to be received – with open minds, with respect for differing views, with fidelity to the rule of law, and above all, with a commitment to the peace and unity of our nation.
We have inherited a Fiji shaped by the decisions, achievements, sacrifices and, at times, the mistakes of generations before us.
We now have a responsibility to leave to those who follow us a nation that is more democratic, more united, more just, more peaceful and more confident in its institutions.
That must be our common purpose.
May wisdom guide our deliberations. May humility guide those entrusted with public authority. May respect guide our national conversation. May the voices of our people continue to be heard.
And may Almighty God guide us as we seek a constitutional future worthy of all the people who call Fiji home.
Vinaka vakalevu.
May God bless you all.
And may God continue to bless our beloved Republic of Fiji.