Conservative Alliance (Fiji)

The Conservative Alliance (Matanitu Vanua in Fijian) is a nationalistic political party in Fiji. The party was founded in 2001 by dissatisfied members of the Fijian Political Party who objected to Ratu Inoke Kubuabola's appointment as party leader in 1999. The party's platform calls for a greater emphasis on indigenous rights and the proclamation of Christianity (the faith of most ethnic Fijians, but relatively few Indo-Fijians), as the official religion of Fiji. Officially, the party accepts the 1997 Constitution, calling it "a workable document," but in practice many of its elected representatives have strongly criticized it.

Following the military suppression of the civilian coup of May 2000, George Speight, the principal instigator of the coup, joined the Conservative Alliance, as did many of his supporters. In the parliamentary election held to restore democracy in 2001, the party fielded candidates in 36 of the 71 electorates. Six of their candidates were elected to the House of Representatives, including Speight. (Unable to take his seat due to his imprisonment on treason charges, Speight was subsequently expelled from Parliament for nonattendance, and his brother, Samisoni Tikoinasau, won the ensuing byelection to fill the vacancy).

To secure a legislative majority, the United Fiji Party of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase forged a coalition agreement with the Conservative Alliance. The party initially insisted on Speight's release from jail as the price of its participation in the government, but later dropped this demand. The party leader, Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure, was appointed List of Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives, and two members of the caucus were appointed to the Cabinet. Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu became Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, and Isireli Leweniqila became Minister for Youth, Employment Opportunities, and sport. As part of a deal brokered between the military and the insurrectionists, Ratu Jope Seniloli, another party stalwart, had already been appointed Vice-President in September 2000, following the end of the rebellion.

In 2004, a number of high-profile members of the Conservative Alliance were arrested and charged with treason for their roles in the 2000 coup. On 6 August 2004, Vice-President Seniloli and Deputy Speaker Vakalalabure were convicted and sentenced to terms of four and six years' imprisonment respectively. Youth, Employment, and Sports Minister Leweniqila was acquitted; Justice Nazhat Shameem accepted his defence that he had been coerced into taking an illegal oath of office during the coup. In the meantime, Seniloli and Vakalalabure have been imprisoned, but have not been dismissed from their positions, pending their appeal, which is expected to be heard in November 2004. Anxious to retain the support of his coalition partner, and shore up his electoral base in the Bau-Tailevu region, in which Seniloli and Vakalalabure are influential chiefs, Prime Minister Qarase said that he was "dismayed by the severity of the sentences" handed down. His government indicated, however, that it would not interfere with the due process of law.