# 1966 Fijian general election

General elections were held in Fiji between 26 September and 8 October 1966, the last before independence in 1970 and the first held under universal suffrage. The result was a victory for the Alliance Party, which won 23 of the 34 elected seats. Its leader Kamisese Mara became the country's first Chief Minister the following year.

## Background

A constitutional conference was held in London in 1965, which resulted in the Legislative Council being reorganised to consist of 36 seats; 14 for Fijians and other Pacific Islanders (two of which were nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs), 12 for Indo-Fijians and 10 for all other ethnic groups. The total number of registered voters was 156,683; 75,768 Indo-Fijians, 74,575 Fijians and 6,340 General electors.
Members of the Legislative Council were elected from two types of constituencies; communal and cross-voting, with voters being able to cast four votes each. Each voter cast a single vote in one of the 25 communal constituencies, in which they could only vote for a candidate of their own ethnicity. In the three three-seat cross-voting constituencies, voters voted for a candidate from each of the three ethnic groups.

## Campaign

For the first time, the elections were a largely partisan event, dominated by the Fijian Alliance Party and the Indo-Fijian Federation Party. A total of 79 candidates contested the elections, three of which were women.

## Results

| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats |
| | Alliance Party | 214,872 | 51.94 | 23 |
| | Federation Party | 113,310 | 27.39 | 9 |
| | National Democratic Party | 6,874 | 1.66 | 0 |
| | Independents | 78,644 | 19.01 | 2 |
| Nominated members | Nominated members | | | 2 |
| Total | Total | 413,700 | 100.00 | 36 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 413,700 | 93.16 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 30,372 | 6.84 | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 444,072 | 100.00 | |
| Source: Fiji Elections |||||

### By constituency

| Seat | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Notes |
| Fijian seats ||||||
| Cakaudrove | Jone Naisara | Alliance Party | 4,908 | | Elected |
| Cakaudrove | Anare M. Tuidraki | Independent | 949 | | |
| Cakaudrove | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 314 | – | |
| Lau–Rotuma | Jonati Mavoa | Alliance Party | Unopposed | Unopposed | Elected |
| Lomaiviti/Kadavu | Solomone Momoivalu | Alliance Party | Unopposed | Unopposed | Elected |
| Macuata/Bua | Emosi Vuakatagane | Alliance Party | 2,885 | | Elected |
| Macuata/Bua | Militoni Vereaqali Leweniqila | Independent | 1,774 | | |
| Macuata/Bua | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 207 | – | |
| North West Viti Levu | Sakeasi Waqanivavalagi | Alliance Party | 6,354 | | Elected |
| North West Viti Levu | Isaia Vakabua | Independent | 1,670 | | |
| North West Viti Levu | Jone Ravunakana | Independent | 1,268 | | |
| North West Viti Levu | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 191 | – | |
| Rewa–Suva | Alipate Sikivou | Alliance Party | 4,427 | | Elected |
| Rewa–Suva | Jone Cure Mataitini | Independent | 1,779 | | |
| Rewa–Suva | Noa Niubalavu Nawalowalo | Independent | 1,268 | | |
| Rewa–Suva | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 158 | – | |
| South Central Viti Levu | David Toganivalu | Alliance Party | 4,368 | | Elected |
| South Central Viti Levu | Penaia Lalabalavu Latianara | Independent | 981 | | |
| South Central Viti Levu | Meli Radelaiburelevu Loki | Independent | 873 | | |
| South Central Viti Levu | Ifereimi Nakaiwalu | Independent | 205 | | |
| South Central Viti Levu | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 182 | – | |
| South West Viti Levu | Peniame Naqasima | Alliance Party | 5,600 | | Elected |
| South West Viti Levu | Apisai Tora | National Democratic Party | 2,632 | | |
| South West Viti Levu | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 133 | – | |
| Tailevu | William Brown Toganivalu | Alliance Party | 3,347 | | Elected |
| Tailevu | Livai Volavola | Independent | 1,530 | | |
| Tailevu | Meli Saronicava Baleilakeba | Independent | 383 | | |
| Tailevu | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 187 | – | |
| Council of Chiefs nominees | George Cakobau | | | | Elected |
| Council of Chiefs nominees | Losalini Raravuya Dovi | | | | Elected |
| General seats ||||||
| Eastern and Central | Wesley Barrett | Alliance Party | 816 | | Elected |
| Eastern and Central | Robert Spowart | Independent | 132 | | |
| Eastern and Central | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 11 | – | |
| Northern | Harold Brockett Gibson | Independent | 392 | | Elected |
| Northern | Fred Archibald | Independent | 292 | | Unseated |
| Northern | Hugh Thaggard | Independent | 151 | | |
| Northern | Lawrence Simpson | Independent | 73 | | |
| Northern | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 33 | – | |
| Suva | John Falvey | Alliance Party | 1,544 | | Re-elected |
| Suva | Charles Stinson | Independent | 1,384 | | Elected |
| Suva | William Yee | Alliance Party | 1,381 | | Elected |
| Suva | Margaret Bain | Alliance Party | 1,288 | | |
| Suva | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 4 | – | |
| West Viti Levu | Ronald Kermode | Alliance Party | Unopposed | Unopposed | Re-elected |
| West Viti Levu | Robin Yarrow | Alliance Party | Unopposed | Unopposed | Elected |
| Indo-Fijian seats ||||||
| North-East Vanua Levu | James Madhavan | Federation Party | 5,049 | 66.9 | Re-elected |
| North-East Vanua Levu | Gaya Prasad | Independent | 2,494 | 33.1 | |
| North-East Vanua Levu | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 320 | – | |
| North-East Viti Levu | C. A. Shah | Federation Party | 3,799 | 58.2 | Re-elected |
| North-East Viti Levu | Vishnu Deo | Alliance Party | 1,955 | 30.0 | |
| North-East Viti Levu | V. P. Bajpai | Independent | 770 | 11.8 | |
| North-East Viti Levu | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 100 | – | |
| North Eastern | Ram Jati Singh | Federation Party | 2,328 | 65.3 | Elected |
| North Eastern | Harish Chandra Kohli | Independent | 1,238 | 34.7 | |
| North Eastern | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 206 | – | |
| North-West Viti Levu | R. D. Patel | Federation Party | 4,704 | | Elected |
| North-West Viti Levu | James Shankar Singh | Alliance Party | 4,421 | | |
| North-West Viti Levu | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 104 | – | |
| South-Central Viti Levu | M. T. Khan | Federation Party | 4,380 | | Elected |
| South-Central Viti Levu | Ramanlal I. Kapadia | Independent | 1,650 | | |
| South-Central Viti Levu | B.D. Moti | Independent | 67 | | |
| South-Central Viti Levu | B. D. Lakshman | Independent | 24 | | |
| South-Central Viti Levu | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 150 | – | |
| South-West Viti Levu | A. D. Patel | Federation Party | 7,601 | | Re-elected |
| South-West Viti Levu | Ayodhya Prasad | Alliance Party | 4,025 | | |
| South-West Viti Levu | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 167 | – | |
| Suva | Irene Jai Narayan | Federation Party | 5,676 | 67.1 | Elected |
| Suva | Andrew Deoki | Independent | 2,779 | 32.9 | Unseated |
| Suva | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 108 | – | |
| Tailevu-Rewa | K. C. Ramrakha | Federation Party | 3,220 | 71.5 | Elected |
| Tailevu-Rewa | K. B. Singh | Independent | 677 | 15.1 | |
| Tailevu-Rewa | Ram Lochan Regan | Independent | 604 | 13.4 | |
| Tailevu-Rewa | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 105 | – | |
| West Viti Levu Indian | Sidiq Koya | Federation Party | 6,318 | | Re-elected |
| West Viti Levu Indian | Jaswant Singh | Independent | 2,221 | | |
| West Viti Levu Indian | C. A. Patel | Independent | 19 | | |
| West Viti Levu Indian | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 201 | – | |
| Source: Pacific Islands Monthly ||||||
Cross-voting seats :
| Constituency | Ethnic group | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Notes |
| Central | Fijian | Edward Cakobau | Alliance Party | Unopposed | Unopposed | Re-elected |
| Central | General | Douglas Walkden-Brown | Alliance Party | 21,208 | | Elected |
| Central | General | James Ah Koy | Independent | 5,604 | | |
| Central | General | David Whippy | Independent | 2,622 | | |
| Central | General | Trevor McNally | Independent | 976 | | |
| Central | General | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 11,518 | – | |
| Central | Indo-Fijian | Abdul Lateef | Alliance Party | 15,498 | | Elected |
| Central | Indo-Fijian | Madho Singh Tikaram | Federation Party | 13,487 | | |
| Central | Indo-Fijian | C. P. Singh | Independent | 7,939 | | Unseated |
| Central | Indo-Fijian | Shiu Narayan Kanhai | Independent | 1,505 | | |
| Central | Indo-Fijian | M. Columbus | Independent | 1,077 | | |
| Central | Indo-Fijian | M. Azam | Independent | 987 | | |
| Central | Indo-Fijian | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 1,584 | – | |
| Northern and Eastern | Fijian | Kamisese Mara | Alliance Party | 26,025 | | Re-elected |
| Northern and Eastern | Fijian | Nemani Waka | Independent | 8,635 | | |
| Northern and Eastern | Fijian | Informal | Informal | 885 | – | |
| Northern and Eastern | General | Lindsay Verrier | Alliance Party | Unopposed | Unopposed | Elected |
| Northern and Eastern | Indo-Fijian | Vijay R. Singh | Alliance Party | 26,634 | | Elected |
| Northern and Eastern | Indo-Fijian | Vijay Singh | Federation Party | 8,068 | | |
| Northern and Eastern | Indo-Fijian | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 808 | – | |
| Western | Fijian | Joshua Toganivalu | Alliance Party | 25,960 | | Elected |
| Western | Fijian | Penaia Rokovuni | Federation Party | 23,171 | | |
| Western | Fijian | Isikeli Nadalo | National Democratic Party | 4,242 | | |
| Western | Fijian | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 2,085 | – | |
| Western | General | Loloma Livingston | Alliance Party | 23,768 | | Elected |
| Western | General | Peter Davis | Independent | 22,677 | | |
| Western | General | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 8,882 | – | |
| Western | Indo-Fijian | K. S. Reddy | Alliance Party | 28,200 | | Elected |
| Western | Indo-Fijian | Deo Narayan | Federation Party | 25,509 | | |
| Western | Indo-Fijian | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 1,729 | – | |
| Source: Pacific Islands Monthly |||||||

## Aftermath

Following the elections, the two independents joined the Alliance Party. A new government was formed with Kamisese Mara as Leader of Government Business. The Executive Council consisted of six elected members and four civil servants.
1966 Executive Council :
| Position | Member |
| Leader of Government Business | Kamisese Mara |
| Natural Resources | Kamisese Mara |
| Attorney General | Justin Lewis |
| Acting Chief Secretary | Ian Thomson |
| Commerce, Industry and Tourism | Edward Cakobau |
| Communications and Works | Charles Stinson |
| Financial Secretary | Harry Richie |
| Secretary for Fijian Affairs and Local Government | Penaia Ganilau |
| Social Services | Vijay R. Singh |
| Undersecretary for Social Services | K. S. Reddy |
| Without portfolio | John Falvey |
At the first meeting of the Legislative Council on 11 November, Ronald Kermode was elected Speaker unopposed, with James Madhavan elected Deputy Speaker.
Full ministerial government was introduced on 1 September 1967. On the same day, the Federation Party MLCs walked out of the Legislative Council. After they missed three meetings, the nine Indo-Fijian communal seats were declared vacant and a series of by-elections held in 1968.
1967 Cabinet :
| Position | Minister |
| Chief Minister | Kamisese Mara |
| Minister for Commerce, Industry and Labour | Edward Cakobau |
| Minister for Communications, Works and Tourism | Charles Stinson |
| Minister for Fijian Affairs and Local Government | Penaia Ganilau |
| Minister for Finance | Harry Richie |
| Minister for Natural Resources | Douglas Walkden-Brown |
| Minister without Portfolio | John Falvey |
| Minister for Social Services | Vijay R. Singh |
| Source: Pacific Islands Monthly ||