Great Council of Chiefs - Constitutional Role

Constitutional Role

According to the Constitution, the Great Council of Chiefs had two major powers:

• It functioned as an electoral college to elect the President and Vice-President of Fiji, for a five-year term. In certain circumstances prescribed by the Constitution, it might 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 chose 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, Council of Rotuma 1). Filling nearly half of the seats in the Senate, the nominees of the Great Council of Chiefs had an effective veto if they voted as a block, as they were almost certain to be joined by enough of the other Senators to muster a majority. They did not always vote as a block, however: Fiji's chiefs are a very diverse body. In practice, the Great Council of Chiefs delegated its prerogative of choosing Senators to Fiji's fourteen provincial councils, with each province choosing one Senator.

In addition to these constitutionally mandated functions, the Great Council of Chiefs had other roles that might from time to time be prescribed by law. In addition, it was considered almost compulsory for the government to consult and secure the approval of the Council before making major changes to the Constitution, although nothing in the Constitution required it to do so.