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This chapter, the shortest in the Fijian
Constitution, stipulates that the Great Council of Chiefs,
or Bose Levu Vakaturaga in Fijian, originally
established under the Fijian Affairs Act, continues
in existence, and that its membership, functions, operations,
and procedures are as prescribed by that act.
The Great Council of Chiefs is a very old body, which
has its roots in the chiefly councils established by
Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau in the 1800s. It was retained
as a consultative body by the British colonial rulers.
It had no formal political role, however, until Fiji
became independent in 1970. Under the independence constitution,
it gained the authority to nominate 8 of the then 22
Senators.
Today, the Great Council of Chiefs nominates 14 Senators
out of 32, and also serves as an electoral college to
choose the President and List of Vice-Presidents of
Fiji. But these powers are not stated in this chapter;
they are set out elsewhere in the constitution.
Although previously established by an Act of Parliament,
the framers of the 1997 Constitution thought it best
to enshrine it there. With increased political representation
being granted to Indo-Fijians, the chiefs felt they
needed the security of having the Great Council enshrined
in the constitution, and not merely in a legal document
that could be amended at the whim of politicians.
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