Hon. Tanya Waqanika

Hon Tanya Waqanika was a candidate in the 2018 elections in Fiji but failed to be elected. In 2019, she was nominated by the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) to be the Speaker of Parliament but was beaten by Epeli Nailatikau by 30 votes to 21. In December 2020, following the resignation from Parliament of the former prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, after he had lost the leadership of SODELPA, Waqanika took his position in parliament as the candidate of SODELPA who had received the most votes in 2018 without being elected. Her appointment took the representation of women in Fiji’s parliament to over 20%.

In the 2022 elections, Waqanika ran for re-election for a full parliamentary term under the SODELPA banner. She placed 14th in the party list, winning 558 votes. As SODELPA was only eligible for 3 Parliamentary seats, Waqanika failed to qualify for one and lost her bid for re-election.