22 May 2013

1093 submissions received on Fiji regime's draft constitution

1:48 pm on 22 May 2013

The Fiji government says it has received about a thousand submissions on its draft constitution.

The government has been collating views on its draft which replaces that of the dumped Constitution Commmission document, based on more than 7,000 submissions.

The Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama has reiterated the regime's draft has listened to the people in relation to land rights following fears that the draft did not guarantee indigenous people's rights.

Commodore Bainimarama told Radio Tarana the draft is being toughened up in that regard.

He says the new constitution is a massive job and the government is not prepared to cut corners.

"We are in the process of going through the submissions we've received on the draft constitution. I have been informed by our legal team that we have over 1093 submissions and there are quite a few ideas to consider."

Commodore Bainimarama says the government is still hoping to finalise the constitution next month.