Fiji wants to dump the Union Jack: Here are some alternative designs for its new flag

Fiji's prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama announced on Tuesday that his country will dump the Union Flag (better known as the Union Jack by most people) from its national flag, the Telegraph reports.

"The new flag should reflect Fiji's position in the world today as a modern and truly independent nation state," he said. Bainimarama also complained that the current flag, with the Union Flag in its left hand corner, carries symbols "that are out of date and no longer relevant, including some anchored to our colonial past."

Fiji was a British colony from 1874 to 1970, and adopted the current flag on its independence 45 years ago. In an interview with ABC the designer of the current flag, Tessa MacKenzie, attacked the prime minister's decision, saying that most Fijians love their flag and wear it with pride, citing Sevens rugby events as an example.

Fijian opposition party Sodelpa also complained that the prime minister was acting like a dictator in his decision to dump the Union Flag.

Last year, New Zealand also announced it wanted to replace its national flag, which also carrying the Union Flag in the left hand corner.

Bainimarama said that Fiji will launch a national competition to find a replacement for the flag, and hopes to be able to present the new design by Oct. 11, when Fiji will celebrate its 45th anniversary of independence.

Bainimarama, who seized power in a military coup in 2006 before repeatedly winning democratic elections, has already scrapped the Queen's Birthday as a national holiday and removed the monarch's head from the local currency, the Fijian dollar.

Although the competition requirements are yet to be announced, some alternative designs are already popping up on the web. Here are a few:

This flag pays homage to the shells of the Pacific Ocean and retains the same background colour of the current flag. The sky blue is a reference to Fiji's cloudless skies.

A similar flag but with a dark purple background instead of the sky blue one.

This flag instead is intended to honour Fiji's Indian population. 44% of Fijians have an Indian background.

Another flag with doves and palm trees. The palm tree is also the symbol of the national rugby team.

A similar flag but with a green background in honour of Islam: there are about 60,000 Muslims in Fiji.

This flag uses a pre-independence symbol, from when Fiji was a colony of the British Empire. Although it does not carry the Union Flag, it is unlikely that the current government would pick a colonial design.

This is the current Fijian flag: