Candidates from ten different political parties and some 69 independent candidates contested the 2006 national election. Amongst the 336 candidates were some 32 women, three of whom were standing as independents. The large number of parties and independent candidates could be an indication of the people’s growing discontent with the policies of the two major parties and of their increasing confidence in political participation. This chapter discusses women and minority interests in Fiji’s alternative electoral system.
This is a chapter in the book edited by Jon Fraenkel and Stewart Firth (2007), ‘From Election to Coup in Fiji: The 2006 campaign and its aftermath’, ANU Press.