Great Council of Chiefs (Fiji)
The Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga in Fijian) is a constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands. It consists of 52 members, mainly hereditary chiefs, most of whom are titled Ratu (if male) or Adi (if female). Some representatives of the national government and of Fiji's provincial councils are also members of the Council; these political appointees may, or may not, be hereditary chiefs themselves. It is established under Section 116 of the 1997 Constitution, but it actually predates the Constitution by many years, having been established by the British colonial rulers as an advisory body when Fiji was a British colony. The Constitution merely formalizes and codifies functions that the Council had long performed.
The Great Council of Chiefs is not to be confused with the electoral college to elect the President and Vice President of Fiji, for a five-year term. In certain circumstances prescribed by the Constitution, it may remove the President or Vice-President from office, in the case of felony, incompetence, negligence, or being unable to carry out their constitutional duties.
- It chooses 14 of the 32 members of the Senate. (Although Senators are ceremonially appointed by the President, his role is a mere formality: the Constitution obligates him to accept and appoint the 14 nominees chosen by the Council, as well as 18 Senators nominated by other institutions (Prime Minister 9, Leader of the Opposition 8, 1980s onwards, the Great Council of Chiefs was compromised by manipulation from the government. Since the coup of 2000, however, it has worked, with mixed succeess, to regain its independence. In 2001 it dismissed 1987 coup leader and former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka from the chairmanship, in the midst of allegations about his possible involvement in the coup of 2000. It has also cut its former ties with the Fijian Political Party (which it originally sponsored in the early 1990s, and has declared its intention to eschew party politics in the future, although individual members of the Council will, of course, remain free to participate in politics as individuals.
In June 2004, the Great Council of Chiefs was plunged into crisis when the Cakaudrove Provincial Council decided to replace Ratu Epeli Ganilau as its representative on the Great Council. This decision had the effect of prematurely ending Ganilau's term as Chairman of the Council, as its regulations require the Chairman to be a member. It is thought that Ganilau's open disagreement with several senior government figures, including Vice-President Ratu Jope Seniloli and Information Minister Simione Kaitani, along with fears that he was undermining the neutrality of the Great Council to use it as a platform from which to advance his own political ambitions, were factors in the Cakaudrove Provincial Council's decision. He has been replaced by Ratu Ovini Bokini, who is thought to be more sympathetic to the government.
