Fiji launched its much anticipated and debated nationwide competition to design a new national flag on Monday, a move seen to be aimed at saying good-bye to the Pacific island country's colonial past.

The competition runs for two months and ends on May 1, so that the new national flag will be hoised for the first time on Oct. 10 this year. The country was colonized by Britain in 1874 and gained independence on Oct. 10, 1970.

"The competition, which is open to all Fijians, will end on May 1, when a national committee of citizens, drawn from various walks of life, will begin sifting through the entries to make a final selection," Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said.

The chair of the committee is Iliesa Delana, Fiji's only Olympic gold medalist and the country's assistant minister for youth and sports. Other committee members are expected to be named in the coming weeks.

"I'm also pleased to announce that... I've written to the leader of the opposition asking for the names of two nominees from her to be included on the committee," Bainimarama said.

Once a number of selected designs are chosen by the committee, Fijians are expected to be given an opportunity to make their comments through a special website and through text message, email, social media and the post.

The Fijian prime minister had earlier expressed the motive behind the change.

"The Union Flag belongs to the British, not to us. The shield on our flag has the British Lion and the Cross of St. George -- a British patron saint. What does this have to do with us? They are the symbols of the colonizer -- Britain -- a country with whom we are friends and will continue to be so. But they are not symbols that are relevant to any Fijian in the 21st century," Bainimarama said, "And they should go. Honored symbols of our past, but not of our future."