National Referendum Bill Passed Unanimously in Parliament

The National Referendum Bill 2025 has been passed unanimously by Parliament, putting in place a legal framework for the conduct of national referendums in Fiji.

The legislation sets out the procedures that would apply when a matter is referred to the people through a referendum, including the issuing of the referendum writ, voter registration, voting arrangements, counting of votes and declaration of results.

Under the framework considered by Parliament, the President would issue the referendum writ following notification from the Speaker of Parliament. The writ would contain key information including the referendum question, voting date, closure of the voter register and the date for the return of the writ.

Registered Fijian voters who are overseas would also remain entitled to participate.

The referendum period is provided for within a 30 to 45-day timeframe following the issuing of the writ, allowing time for voter education, electoral preparations and arrangements for voters outside the country.

Voters would be able to indicate their choice by ticking, crossing or circling either “Yes” or “No” on the ballot paper. The framework also allows more than one referendum question to appear on a single ballot paper.

Where a referendum is conducted alongside a general election, electoral officials, polling venues, ballot boxes and voter lists may be shared, while the ballot papers and counting processes would remain separate.

The Supervisor of Elections would prepare the national referendum results, which would then be endorsed by the Electoral Commission and forwarded to the President for declaration.

The legislation also provides for information on referendum proposals and relevant parliamentary debates to be made available to the public as part of voter education.

The passage of the legislation is particularly significant as Fiji has never previously held a national referendum. The framework provides the mechanism required should proposed constitutional amendments proceed to a referendum.