Fijian general election, 2006

← 2001

15 May 2006

2014 →

All 71 seats to the House of Representatives

Registered

479,674

Turnout

64.0%

	First party	Second party	Third party

Leader	Laisenia Qarase	Mahendra Chaudhry	Mick Beddoes
Party	SDL	Labour	UPP
Last election	34 seats	27 seats	1 seat
Seats won	36	31	2
Seat change	+2	+4	+1
Popular vote	342,352	300,797	6,474
Percentage	44.59%	39.18%	0.84%

Prime Minister before election

Laisenia Qarase
SDL

Subsequent Prime Minister

Laisenia Qarase
SDL

The Constitution of Fiji requires general elections for the House of Representatives to be held at least once every five years. The last election before Fiji's 2014 election was held on 6–13 May 2006. Acting President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi issued a proclamation on 2 March, effective from 27 March, dissolving Parliament. The previous parliamentary term had been due to expire on 1 October 2006.

The Writ of Elections was issued on 28 March; candidates filed their nominations on 11 April and published their preference lists on the 13th, while voter registration closed on 4 April.

Vote counting began on 15 May, with the results, a narrow victory for the ruling Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) Party, announced on the 18th. Following the election, the President was required to summon the new House of Representatives not later than 12 June.

Elections in Fiji are characterized by two fundamental realities.

Depending on ideological, demographic, and electoral factors, parties may seek to consolidate their position in communal constituencies (reserved by ethnicity) by forging alliances with other parties appealing to the same ethnic group, or improve their position in open constituencies (elected by universal suffrage) by entering into alliances with parties that appeal to different ethnic groups. There are 46 communal constituencies (23 reserved for indigenous Fijians, 19 for Indo-Fijians, 1 for Rotuman Islanders, and 3 for minorities such as Caucasians, Chinese, and Banaban Islanders), and 25 open constituencies.

...
Wikipedia