Fiji’s Parliament has unanimously passed the National Referendum Bill 2025, giving the country a legal framework for holding a national referendum for the first time, FBC News reported on 1 October 2026. The law creates the machinery to put a constitutional amendment — or any other matter Parliament judges of sufficient national importance — directly to voters.
A note on sourcing before the detail: this report rests on FBC News’s account of the sitting alone. The Bill as passed, the committee’s tabled report and the Hansard record — documents Fiji’s Parliament publishes — were not available before publication, and no second outlet’s account was found to corroborate the figures below. Readers should weigh the specifics accordingly; this page will be updated as the official documents appear.
What the Bill does not do is call a vote. It is procedural law, sitting and waiting for a question to be handed to it. Because the vote was unanimous, every member present — government and opposition — backed the framework, according to FBC News.
Key facts
- Any referendum would be run by the Electoral Commission, the Supervisor of Elections and the Fiji Elections Office, using existing electoral machinery rather than a purpose-built voting system.
- A ballot on a proposed new Constitution would ask a direct Yes or No question.
- The committee cut the Bill from 32 clauses to 24 before it returned to the House.
- A proposed Constitution would have to be published in English, iTaukei and Fiji Hindi before polling.
- Registered Fijian voters overseas would be eligible to take part.
Why it matters
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said the significance of the legislation is that the 2013 Constitution provides for amendments but there was previously no specific law setting out how a referendum should be conducted, FBC News reported. That gap is now filled. Rabuka said the Bill does not predetermine what voters should decide, and that it establishes the process through which Fijians can express their views directly on matters of national significance.
The stakes run wider than that framing. Fiji has never held a national referendum, and the document such a vote would most likely be asked to replace or amend — the 2013 Constitution — was brought into force by decree under the post-2006-coup administration rather than by popular vote. Its own amendment chapter is unusually restrictive by international standards: as set out in the published text of the 2013 Constitution, a change requires the support of three-quarters of the members of Parliament and then approval by three-quarters of registered voters — not three-quarters of those who turn out. Measured against the full roll, an abstention functions in effect as a No vote, which is why eligibility, registration and overseas participation are not technical trivia but the difference between a reform passing and failing.
That is the unresolved question hanging over this law. FBC News reported only that the result on a proposed new Constitution would be determined according to the majority requirement provided under the enacted framework, without specifying a figure. Which threshold applies in practice could not be verified from the material available, and is not assumed here. It is the single most consequential detail in the Bill and deserves a direct answer from the Attorney-General’s office.
Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica said the framework is intended to remain relevant beyond the current reform process, and that Parliament would be able to use the mechanism in future for other matters of national importance. That makes it a permanent addition to Fiji’s political toolkit rather than a one-off instrument: once in statute, any future government with the numbers in the House can reach for it.
What triggers the first vote
If the Constitution Amendment Bill 2026, currently before Parliament, completes the required parliamentary process, the referendum enabled by this legislation would be Fiji’s first, according to FBC News. Nothing happens until that Bill clears the House; the referendum law is the vehicle, not the journey. That places it alongside the wider constitutional debate and parliamentary work such as the Great Council of Chiefs Bill, both of which turn on how much of the 2013 settlement survives.
Timing matters for a second reason. Parliament’s current term began after the December 2022 general election, so the next election falls due within the life of this reform process — which makes the committee’s recommendation that a referendum be allowed to run alongside an election a live scheduling option rather than a hypothetical.
How the vote would be run
Acting Attorney-General Siromi Turaga said the legislation sets out the practical machinery for a referendum, covering voter eligibility, ballot papers, campaigning, counting, publication of information and challenges to the result, FBC News reported. Existing electoral arrangements would be used, including polling, pre-poll and postal voting, counting procedures, scrutineers, observers and the declaration of results. Building on the Fiji Elections Office’s apparatus avoids standing up a parallel administration and carries the scrutineer and observer regime voters know from general elections over to a referendum.
A proposed Constitution would have to be made available in English, iTaukei and Fiji Hindi before polling, a requirement FBC News reported is intended to ensure voters can read the document they are being asked to approve. That is a meaningful safeguard in a vote where one Yes or No stands in for a text running to many dozens of pages.
Overseas voters
Everyone on the National Register of Voters would be eligible, and the Bill allows registered Fijian voters abroad to take part, with the committee specifically recognising their participation. The condition is registration: Fijians overseas who have never registered, or whose details are out of date, would need to fix that before a writ is issued rather than after. If a three-quarters-of-the-roll style threshold does apply, diaspora registration cuts both ways — unregistered Fijians sit outside the count entirely, while registered Fijians who do not vote remain on the denominator. That gives the question direct weight for Fijians living in Australia and New Zealand, the two largest offshore communities.
Offences and campaigning
The Bill establishes offences aimed at protecting the integrity of a referendum, including bribery, intimidation, deliberately spreading false information about voting procedures, and misusing public resources for referendum campaigning, FBC News reported.
Turaga said the framework would not prevent campaigning for or against a proposal: parties, churches, unions, civil society groups and individual citizens would remain able to express their views, subject to integrity restrictions. In Fiji, where churches, provincial councils and trade unions carry organising power rivalling the political parties, that assurance is substantive rather than decorative — a narrower rule would have sidelined the institutions most capable of mobilising a campaign. The legislation also provides a court petition route, filed within a prescribed period, to challenge the conduct of a vote; the clause text was not available for this report, so its scope is not characterised further.
What the committee changed
The Bill was tabled in December 2025 and referred to the Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights, which reported back on 29 September 2026 after submissions from political parties, faith groups, civil society, the legal profession, youth representatives and electoral authorities — a nine-month passage, slow by the standards of Fiji’s recent fast-tracked legislation.
Information Minister Lynda Tabuya said 12 provisions were removed, nine replaced, four added and one amended, FBC News reported; that breakdown is the outlet’s account of her statement in the House and remains uncorroborated. Tabuya said the changes were aimed at strengthening voter information, clarifying campaign rules and improving dispute resolution.
The committee recommended that referendum information be published before polling, including the question, the constitutional proposal, explanatory material and the parliamentary debate — putting the arguments made by both sides in the House into the voter information package rather than leaving the campaign to brochures. It also recommended a voting period of 30 to 45 days after the writ is issued, clearer ballot-marking rules allowing a tick, cross or circle (which should cut invalid ballots in a Yes/No vote), and permitting a referendum alongside an election where appropriate, with separate ballots and counting. Minister for Youth and Sports Jese Saukuru said the law also places a responsibility on voters, particularly young people, to understand the issues, arguing participation should rest on knowledge rather than turnout alone.
What we still do not know
- The exact majority required for a Yes result on a new Constitution, and whether it is measured against votes cast or the full register.
- Whether the Constitution Amendment Bill 2026 has the parliamentary numbers to trigger a referendum at all.
- What opposition members and the faith, union and civil-society groups that made submissions think of the final 24-clause version, as opposed to the Bill as tabled.
- Any indicative date, and whether the government intends to pair a referendum with the next general election.
Sourcing: FBC News’s coverage of the 1 October 2026 sitting, attributed throughout, plus the published text of the 2013 Constitution where the amendment threshold is discussed. The Bill as passed, the committee report and Hansard were unavailable before publication; ministers’ statements are paraphrased, not quoted, because verbatim transcripts were not held; no comment was obtained from opposition members, the Fiji Elections Office or submitting organisations. This report will be updated as further material becomes available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does passing this Bill mean a referendum has been called?
No. According to FBC News, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said the legislation does not predetermine what voters should decide and only establishes the legal process. A referendum on a new Constitution would follow only if the Constitution Amendment Bill 2026, currently before Parliament, completes the required parliamentary process.
What majority would be needed to approve a new Constitution?
That is the key unanswered question. FBC News reported only that the result would be determined according to the majority requirement provided under the enacted framework, without publishing a figure. The published text of Fiji’s 2013 Constitution sets a separate and high bar for amendment — three-quarters of the members of Parliament, followed by approval from three-quarters of registered voters. How the new referendum law interacts with that requirement could not be confirmed from the source material available, and this report will be updated if the Bill text or Hansard clarifies it.
What do overseas Fijians need to do to take part?
Eligibility flows from the National Register of Voters, so the practical step is registration or updating existing details with the Fiji Elections Office — and doing so before a writ is issued rather than after, since the register closes for each vote. FBC News reported that the Bill allows registered Fijian voters overseas to participate and that the committee specifically recognised their involvement.
Can a referendum be held on the same day as a general election?
Yes. FBC News reports the Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights recommended allowing a referendum to be held alongside an election where appropriate, with the referendum ballots and counting processes kept separate from the election’s.
Who can challenge the result of a referendum?
FBC News reports the legislation provides a legal avenue to challenge the conduct of a referendum through a court petition filed within the prescribed period, and that the committee’s changes included improvements to the dispute-resolution process. The clause text was not available for this report, so the scope of that avenue is not characterised further.
Can churches and unions campaign in a referendum?
Acting Attorney-General Siromi Turaga said the framework would not prevent campaigning for or against a proposal, according to FBC News. Political parties, churches, unions, civil society groups and individual citizens would remain able to express their views, subject to restrictions designed to protect the integrity of the vote.
