30 September 2021
The Fijian Elections Office [FEO] has begun rolling out activities for the 2022 General Election, by holding its first meeting with registered Political Parties today.
Supervisor of Elections [SoE] Mr Mohammed Saneem took the parties though a comprehensive preparation plan for the 2022 General Election during a virtual meeting following which parties were also provided with electronic copies of the Provisional Voter List for inspection and verification.
“Going forward this is a consultative approach that the FEO has taken with political parties so that at the next election all stakeholders are on the same page in terms of the Voter List having worked on it together,” Mr Saneem explained.
“The Provisional List for polling stations has been given for free and now the parties must peruse the List and report any inaccuracies to the FEO.”
In attendance were representatives from:
- National Federation Party;
- FijiFirst;
- Social Democratic Liberal Party;
- Unity Fiji; and
- The People’s Alliance
Parties will check and verify information such as the Polling Venue Name, Polling Venue Code, Polling Station code, Area Name, Division, Surname, First Name and Gender and report to the FEO on any issues they may find.
“The Voter List is one of the most important elements of an election as it contains the final list of voters who will be able to cast a ballot and as such it is imperative that during the preparation phase, the List is consistently verified to ensure its accuracy and correctness and where possible published so that it can be scrutinized before the List is finalized for the next general election,” Mr Saneem emphasized.
The SoE is required under Section 40 of the Electoral Act, 2014 to publish the Provisional Voter List for each Polling Station as approved by the Electoral Commission on or before the 30th of September each year except for an Election year.
“Political Parties have been given until 30 November 2021 to inspect the List and provide feedback,” Mr Saneem said.
Ends.
