National Federation Party
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National Federation Party
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|---|---|
 |
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| Leader | Biman Prasad |
| President | Tupou Draunidalo |
| Founded | November 1968 |
| Preceded by | Federation Party, National Democratic Party |
| Headquarters | 124 Princes Road, Tamavua, Samabula |
| Ideology |
Social democracy Third way Federalism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| Colours | Red and green |
| MPs in the Parliament of Fiji |
3 / 50
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| Website | |
| nfpfiji |
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The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party. Though it claimed to represent all Fiji Islanders, it was supported, in practice, almost exclusively by Indo-Fijians whose ancestors had come to Fiji, mostly as indentured labourers, between 1879 and 1916.
The formation of the Federation Party was a direct consequence of the dispute between cane farmers and the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR) in 1960 regarding the new cane contract. It contested the 1963 Legislative Council election under the banner of Citizens Federation, which was reconstituted as the Federation Party on 21 June 1964, with A.D. Patel as President and Sidiq Koya as Vice-president. The merger took place in time for the party to participate in the 1965 constitutional conference which was called to map out a path towards independence from the United Kingdom. The British Government decided to introduce cross-voting as a compromise between the Fijian and European delegates on one side and the Indians on the other; nine of the 36 seats on the Legislative Council would be elected by universal suffrage, but allocated by ethnicity, divided equally among Fijians, Indians, and general electors (Caucasians, Chinese, and other minorities]]). The Legislative Council was enlarged to 36 members, consisting of 14 Fijians (9 elected on communal roll, 3 on cross-voting roll and two nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs), 12 Indians (9 elected on communal roll and 3 on cross-voting roll) and 10 Europeans (7 elected on communal roll and 3 on cross-voting roll). Some of the non-contentious proposals by the Federation Party were accepted. These were the establishment of Public Service Commission, Police Service Commission and Judicial and Legal Services Commission and a Bill of Rights.
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