On 24 December 2015, the Fijian government announced that it had again put off a decision on the country's new flag via delaying the next stage by another two months to the end of February 2016. In a statement, the government said that it had now received new submissions since it released 23 designs earlier in 2015, and that it was still seeking more. Furthermore, it was announced that five designs would be chosen through the Prime Minister's Office in March 2016, with the public then having three months to select one. The government also said it expected to announce the new flag on 1 July 2016 or at a later date, and that it planned to raise the new flag on Constitution Day, 7 September 2017 (a new public holiday celebrating the 2013 Constitution of Fiji).