It’s a tragedy that Fiji has been ruled by decrees – Fatiaki

The last set of military coups, removed democratically elected governments, including how the laws are made, and it’s a real tragedy that we were ruled by decrees.

Chair of the Electoral Reform Commission and former Chief Justice, Daniel Fatiaki highlighted this during fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan when asked what past coups did to the country’s lawmaking process.

Fatiaki says he can’t even understand how can we be ruled by decree.

The Electoral Reform Chair says he studied constitutional law and that in any democratic government, the laws are made by Parliament for the people.

He says one doesn’t study coup law in Law School, you study proper constitutional law and coups are illegal things.

When asked about the negative impact of making laws without consultation under Parliamentary Standing Order 51, Fatiaki says there’s no foundation at all for decrees.

He says the laws passed by Parliament reflect the view of the majority while a decree reflects nothing but the authoritarian dictatorship that instituted it.

The Chair says a classic example is the FNPF Decree 51 which ripped the heart out of pensioners as those receiving 15 to about 25 percent were forced to accept 9 percent. He says the pensioners went under the poverty line as a result because no consultations were done.

Fatiaki says it was just done by authority, whoever has the power.

He says that decree remains today and no government has bothered to actually ratify it and make it an Act of Parliament.

He says the level of unlawfulness in this country is shocking.

The Chair stressed that his four sons were born post-1987 and they lived their entire lives in coups and it wouldn’t surprise them if they think that a coup is the way to change laws or governments.

Fatiaki says this is his effort to try and give his grandchildren true democracy and protect them from more coups.

Meanwhile, Electoral Reform Commissioner and economist, Professor Wadan Narsey highlighted that the elected government from 2014 to 2022, had eight years to bring the Constitution to parliament and get it approved.

Professor Narsey says the Bainimarama government wrote it into their Constitution that to change a single letter, you had to have three-quarters of a parliament and 75 percent of registered voters to say yes.

Nationwide consultations for the electoral law reforms start on Monday.