General elections were held in Fiji between 10 and 17 July 1982.[1] The paradoxical results were both a triumph and a setback for the Alliance Party of the Prime Minister, Kamisese Mara. The Alliance received 52% of the popular vote, only slightly down on its previous total, but won only 28 seats, eight fewer than in the previous elections of September 1977. Part of the reason for this discrepancy was that the slight surge in support for Mara's Alliance in the Indo-Fijian community, from 14 percent to 16 percent, was not sufficient to translate into seats in Fiji's communal electoral system, and did not therefore off-set losses among the ethnic Fijian community, particularly in the west of the country. The Western United Front of Osea Gavidi won only two seats, but split the vote, allowing the National Federation Party (NFP), with which it tactically allied itself, to gain seven seats for a total of 22. The NFP, which had split into two factions before the previous elections, had been reunited.
Campaign
A total of 137 candidates contested the 52 seats in the House of Representatives.[2] One candidate – Subramani Basawaiya of the National Federation Party – was elected unopposed in the Savusavu–Macuatu East Indo-Fijian communal constituency, after his sole opponent, Alliance Party candidate Shiu Prasad, withdrew from the contest shortly before the elections. The Alliance claimed the withdrawal was tactical, as it would mean Indo-Fijian voters would be less likely to come out to vote, giving the Alliance an advantage in the national constituencies.[3]
The Fijian Nationalist Party campaigned on a 'Fiji for the Fijians' platform, with their manifesto including policies of reserving 46 of the 52 seats in the House of Representatives for Fijians and returning all freehold and crown lands to the Fijian community.[4]
The Alliance received 86% of the vote in the Fijian communal constituencies, with the WUF on 7% and the NFP just 0.8%. In Indo-Fijian communal constituencies the NFP received 84% of the vote and the Alliance 15%.
