Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has given into sustained public pressure, moving to extend the timeline for major constitutional reform not long after announcing plans to table a bill to change the country's constitution.
The former military strongman, who has instigated two coups dating back to 1987, announced on the floor of the parliament this week that the special parliamentary committee on the latest constitution amendment would "table its review report at a later sitting date".
The People's Alliance party leader did not provide a specific date for when reform would be, other than stating the final report is set to be presented back to parliament in "due time".
It's a significant concession for the hardline retired Colonel, whose coalition government has been falling apart at the seams ahead of a third reading of a major bill to alter Fiji's 2013 constitution.
"During the extension or extended period, we intend to listen to more submissions from the public and also give time to our very hard-working parliamentary staff, who have supported us in the collection, collation, and compilation of the final report to be presented back to parliament in due time," he said.
He had once previously named February 6, 2027, as the deadline set for a general election, which is supposedly running parallel with Fiji's constitutional reform process.
This all comes after the Prime Minister replaced his coalition partner and leader of the National Federation Party, Biman Prasad, as a member of the special parliamentary committee after Mr Prasad recently announced his party would vote against the bill.
"Constitutional legitimacy cannot be sacrificed for political expediency," Mr Prasad said.
"There should be no shortcuts or fast-tracking of any constitutional process.
"We will no longer participate in the special parliamentary committee, nor will I be a signatory to the report of the committee to parliament."
The Prime Minister requires a two-thirds majority in the Fijian parliament to pass the bill through the current 53-seat parliament - following the untimely deaths of two MPs in September.
With the National Federation Party and the Social Democratic Liberal Party both objecting to the process and the contents of the bill, the motion of changing the constitution has hit a roadblock.
The Social Democratic Liberal Party directed its three MPs in the coalition government - all of whom currently are cabinet ministers - to vote against the bill in a serious blow to the Prime Minister's chances of having it passed.
The proposal of a major rewrite of Fiji's constitution would affect not only the parliament, but the military structure, change Indigenous iTaukei institutions that include the place traditional chiefs have in Fijian society, as well as land ownership, human rights, and controversially removing the immunity for citizens involved in past military coups.
The Prime Minister has previously said the immunity clause does not particularly protect him but that he is "free" of prosecution.
Among the People's Alliance party's raft of seven key proposals would include both a house of representatives and the return of a senate, which will extend to a mixed electoral system that also combines constituency representatives and proportional party representation.
Other measures include restoring constitutional recognition of the Great Council of Chiefs, the strengthening of Indigenous land and customary rights, and recognising Fiji's traditional and historical identity against the country's backdrop of one-third Hindi and Muslim Indo-Fijians.
