The Electoral Commission [‘EC’] is an independent non-partisan authority, which consists of six (6) Commissioners and a Chairperson all of whom have been appointed for a term of three [3] years.

The SoE is also the Secretary to the EC. He or she is required to be present in all meetings of the EC but will be excused in the event the EC is required to make a ruling over a decision made by him or her.

The responsibility of the EC is laid out in section 75 (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Fiji which mainly includes the registration of voters and the conduct of free and fair elections in accordance with the written law governing elections and any other relevant law.

In the lead up to the 2018 General Election, the EC worked closely with the FEO in ensuring that the country was ready to proceed to the polls. The EC was required to meet and provide approvals on areas that they had authority as defined in section 3 (1) of the Electoral Act. This was carried out smoothly and allowed the FEO to effectively deliver the 2018 General Election.

The EC and the SoE published a joint report on the 2018 General Election that was tabled in Parliament and published widely by the FEO