Fiji - October 2025

Two of Fiji’s three deputy prime ministers resigned in October after being charged with corruption-related offenses. Manoa Kamikamica was charged with perjury by prosecutors with the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) for allegedly making a false statement under oath during the inquiry into the appointment of Barbara Malimali as FICAC commissioner. Biman Prasad allegedly failed to declare his role as the director of several hotel projects, which is required by the Political Parties Act. Observers suggest the timing of the indictments could be politically motivated and related to behind-the-scenes manoeuvring ahead of the 2026 general election. Transparency International Fiji warned in a public statement about the risks of selective prosecution, saying that the credibility of anti-corruption laws in the country relies on equitable enforcement and encouraged the FICAC to investigate these and all instances of potential corruption thoroughly.

Sources: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Fiji Times, Pacific News Network, International IDEA

Former Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama was given a 12-month suspended sentence on 2 October for ’making an unwarranted demand with menace.’ Bainimarama was found guilty of using his office to pressure the police commissioner into firing two officers in 2021. As the maximum sentence for the crime is 12 years imprisonment, Bainimarama will now be barred from contesting the 2026 general election. Bainimarama was suspended from parliament in 2023 for insulting the country’s president and served six months in prison, also for pressuring the police commissioner in a separate matter. Despite his legal troubles, Bainimarama remained popular among supporters of his dissolved FijiFirst party, and the latest conviction is likely to complicate his allies’ efforts to return to power in the upcoming election.

Sources: Pacific News Network, Fiji Sun, International IDEA (1), International IDEA (2)

FijiFirst, the party founded by former Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama in 2014, was formally dissolved by Fiji’s High Court on 16 October. The party, which governed the country from 2014 until 2022 and was even when in opposition the largest party in the country’s parliament, was deregistered on 1 July 2024, leaving the country without an organized political opposition. The process was instigated by an internal party dispute, which revealed the party lacked a dispute resolution mechanism, as political parties are required to have under the Fijian Constitution. Most of the party leadership resigned, and the remaining members failed to comply with a court order to amend the party constitution or be deregistered. Former FijiFirst MPs have not yet reorganized into a new political party and remain independent.

Sources: Fiji Times, Radio New Zealand