Part 2 President and Vice-President
Part 2 of Chapter 7, comprising Sections 89 through 95, sets out the qualifications, manner of election, and formula for removal of the President and Vice-President, and miscellaneous rules relating to the institution of the two offices.
Sections 89 through 91 stipulate that the President and Vice-President shall be appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs "after consultation with the Prime Minister." It is not clear whether or not this clause gives the Prime Minister a veto. It has never been tested.
The President and Vice-President are required to be Fijian citizens who have had a distinguished career in any aspect of national or international life, whether in the public or private sectors, and must meet the qualifications required of candidates for the House of Representatives. The offices of President and Vice-President are incompatible with any other offices; appointment to either position automatically terminates one's service in whatever other office he or she might be serving in at the time. The term of office is five years, renewable once.
Section 92 provides for the replacement of the Vice-President in the event of the office becoming vacant. The President nominates another person to complete the unexpired term of the Vice-President, subject to the approval of the Great Council of Chiefs.
Section 93 authorizes the Great Council of Chiefs to removed the President or Vice-President from office for "infirmity of body or mind... or for misbehaviour." This is not an easy process, however. First, the Prime Minister must notify the Chief Justice that he considers the President or Vice-President unable to carry out his duties or unfit to remain in office. In the event of alleged physical or mental infirmity, the Chief Justice is required to establish a medical board consisting of three qualified medical practitioners; in the event of alleged treason, felony, bribery, or other misbehaviour, a tribunal of three persons, each of whom is eligible to be a judge, is to be appointed. After makings thorough investigation, the medical board or tribunal is to present its findings to the Great Council of Chiefs, whose decision is final.
Section 94 requires that the President and Vice-President must take the Oath of Allegiance and the oaths relating to their respective offices; these are set out later in the Constitution. The oaths are to be administered by the Chief Justice.
The authorizing of only one person (namely, the Chief Justice) is designed to forestall legal recognition of any Presidential or Vice-Presidential oath administered illegally, as happened in the 2000 coup, when Ratu Jope Seniloli (an accomplice of the coup's chief instigator, George Speight) was administered the Presidential oath of office by someone other than the Chief Justice. On 6 August 2004, he was convicted of treason for swearing an unconstitutional oath.
Section 96 allows the Parliament to make laws, subject to the Constitution, "relating to the appointment, the terms and conditions of office, including pension entitlements, and the procedures for removal, of the President and Vice-President."
Read more about this topic: Constitution Of Fiji: Chapter 7
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