Statement by the Chairperson Ms Barbara Malimali of the Electoral Commission

 Opening of the EC Induction Workshop

Suva
14 August 2023

Fellow Commissioners,

Bula Vinaka!

I take great pleasure in according to each of you a warm welcome. As you all are aware, through the recent appointment of Dr Atu Emberson-Bain, we now have a full complement of Commissioners.

I wish to highlight that as members of the Electoral Commission, our duties are enshrined under the Constitution; therefore, it is crucial that we align ourselves to our roles stipulated under section 75 of the Constitution. I am confident that over the course of this Workshop, we will be able to familiarize ourselves with our roles and conduct ourselves in a manner that is expected of this office.

As appointees of the President, it is imperative that you fully know your duties so that they can be executed accordingly. Therefore, we must strive to work collectively as members of the EC to best serve the interests of all Fijians.

I also wish to extend our welcome and appreciation to Ms Deirdre Brooks and Ms. Karen Beggs who is here to facilitate our Induction Workshop. Ms Brooks and Ms Beggs are also representatives from the New Zealand Electoral Commission (NZEC).

We are truly thankful to the NZEC and MFAT for facilitating this Induction Workshop and we look forward to more collaborations in the near future.

With that being said ladies and gentlemen; my fellow Commissioners without taking any more of your time, I officially open our 3-day Workshop.

Vinaka Vakalevu

Statement by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission

Mr Mukesh Nand

Declaration of Results

19/12/22 at 1.00pm 

Fellow members of the Electoral Commission, 

The Supervisor of Elections,

Invited Guests,

Members of the media,

Ladies and gentlemen.

Bula Vinaka and a very warm welcome to you all.

We have received the results from the Supervisor of Elections. We congratulate him and his team for another successful election. 

In accordance with the law, the Electoral Commission[‘EC’] then proceeded to determine the seats that are to be allocated.

Sections 103 to 109 of the Electoral Act, 2014 are the relevant provisions for this process. The total number of votes cast in the 2022 General Election were 473,910 and as such, the threshold is calculated to be 23,696.

Based on the results of the 2022 General Election, the following Political Parties and Independent Candidates met the threshold:

In applying the D’hondt formula to determine the number of seats each Party attained, the Electoral Commission arrived at the following result: 

According to the Electoral Act, 2014 the candidates within the Parties that have won the highest votes will be entitled to allocation of seats before those with lower votes. I will now announce the names of the candidates that have been allocated seats for the next Parliament: (*read from table)

Ladies and gentlemen, the Commission’s next duty is to Return the Writ of Elections to His Excellency the President as stipulated under Section 106 (2) of the Electoral Act, 2014.

On behalf of the Electoral Commission, the Fijian Elections Office and the entire country, I offer congratulations to the candidates that have been elected into Parliament and wish them the best of luck.

Thank you very much and Vinaka Vakalevu.  

Statement by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission

Mr Mukesh Nand

After Receiving Results from the Supervisor of Elections

18/12/22 @4PM

Fellow Electoral Commission members,

The Supervisor of Elections,

Members of the Media,

Invited guests,

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Bula vinaka and a very warm welcome to you all today.

The 2022 General Election took place on the 14th of December in a peaceful and conducive environment. 

My fellow Commission members and I observed voting at several polling places and were pleased with the smooth flow of operations on Election Day. Since then we have been present at the National Results Centre observing the results tabulation process.

Ladies and gentleman, I stand here today on behalf of my Commission receiving the Final National Results Tally for the 2022 General Election.

I would like to thank you, Supervisor of Elections and your team at the Fijian Elections Office for a job well done.

Ladies and gentlemen, after receiving the results of the 2022 General Election, the Electoral Commission will now retire and calculate the seat allocation for the 55 seats of the next parliament.

We intend to announce the Final list of candidates that will enter parliament at 1pm tomorrow followed by our appointment with H.E the President at 2pm when we intend to return the writ for the 2022 General Election.

Thank you and vinaka vakalevu.

Statement by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission

Mr Mukesh Nand

Election Day Announcement

Media Centre- FMF Gymnasium

14 DEC 22 @4PM

Bula Vinaka Ladies and gentlemen.

It is now 4pm on Election Day with only two (2) more hours left to go until the close of Polling for the 2022 General Election.

The Electoral Commission has been out visiting various venues from the morning and it is indeed a proud moment to have my fellow Fijians come out and exercise their Right to Vote. 

The indelible ink on your finger is a show of patriotism, it represents your civic duty towards your country.

Ladies and gentlemen, every four years we come together as a nation to make history. Others before you have paved the way for a democratic Fiji and now it is your turn to show up for your nation and lead the way for those who will come after you.

Ladies and gentleman, as the Commission overseeing the conduct of general elections in Fiji, we have worked with the Fijian Elections Office to ensure that the 2022 General Election becomes a platform for all Fijians to vote with confidence, security and freedom.

We keep to our promise and as at 4pm today, our Polling Stations continue to facilitate voting, our staff are ready to serve you, all election materials are there. This opportunity comes once every 4 years ladies and gentleman, so if you are still at home or elsewhere and you have not voted, you have 2 more hours to make your way to your Polling Station.

If you are not sure about where to vote, text your VoterCard number to 1500. 

If you do not have a VoterCard, bring any valid Photo ID.

If you have friends and family who have not voted, bring them along too. Encourage others to vote.

I have been informed that voter turnout has not been up to par but ladies and gentleman, there is still time for you to be able to vote.

Remember Polling Stations will close at 6pm or after the last voter in the queue at 6pm has voted.

I on behalf of the Electoral Commission members and the hardworking team of the Fijian Elections Office who are out on the field, urge each and every one of you who is yet to vote to come and cast you ballot.

Thank you, Vinaka Vakalevu

Statement by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission 

Mr Mukesh Nand 

2022 Election Night Dinner – EVP

Suva – 14.12.22

Your Excellency the High Commissioner of Great Britain to Fiji Dr. Brian Jones 

Senior Officials of the Fijian Elections Office

EVP Participants and supporters

Bula Vinaka and a very Good Evening to you all. 

We have just concluded the polling process for our third General Election under the guidance of the Electoral Act of 2014. 

The Fijian Elections Office is currently busy compiling the results for the General Election as well as carrying out the counting for the Pre-Poll activities.

We are confident that all these activities will be concluded with the same level of efficiency and efficacy that the Fijian Elections Office has shown so far. 

I’d like to acknowledge and thank the Supervisor of Elections, Mr Mohammed Saneem, as well as the Deputy Supervisor of Elections, Mr. Robin Boyd, for their hard work and effort in ensuring that the Fijian Elections for 2022 is fair and credible.

I would also like to thank our partners UNDP and the High Commission of the United Kingdom for making this exciting program possible. 

I would also like to welcome you all to stay longer if you can to see the outcomes and I thank you all for accepting our invitation. Special thanks to our regional and international partners in the Election Management Bodies for taking up our invitation.

As I said when I initially addressed you, our intention was not to show off any of our processes but to really put it up on display for your constructive criticism or for your positive views on it.

The only intention here is that the evolution of election practices in Fiji must NOT stop at every election but rather become much more revolutionized following the election.  

And get a new boost of energy so that the Fijian Elections historically becomes one of the most transparent and fair processes. 

We hope that when Fijians choose their leaders, the election process gives them that boost, that confidence, that ownership that the process, in which they used to select the leaders, was transparent because it was accessible and it was fair.

That is all we hope.

Anyway, I’m taking too much of your time and I wish you all a good evening, do continue to follow the results on the Results App from the convenience of your respective hand held devices and all the best and safe journey on your return from Suva.

Thank you and vinaka vakalevu.  

Statement by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission 

Mr Mukesh Nand

Election Day Reminder

Suva – 13.12.22

Bula Vinaka Fijians!

The 2022 General Election will be taking place tomorrow at all Polling Stations and it will start at 7.30am and will continue right up until the last voter has voted at 6.00pm.

The Electoral Commission and the Fijian Elections Office have ensured that all polling operations happen according to plan and I would like to advise you that we are ready to receive your votes.

I am informed by the Supervisor of Elections that teams have been successfully reaching polling venues and the deployment of election materials has been happening throughout the last two days. 

I am further informed that by tomorrow morning all polling operations should be normal and ready to receive votes from all Fijians.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the findings of the Multinational Observer Group in its preliminary statement and I would like to assure every Fijian that we will continue to provide electoral services with the highest level of integrity, commitment and diligence.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to vote!

Tomorrow at 7.30am right up until the last voter has voted at 6.00pm every Fijian will have the opportunity to demonstrate their civic duty and the authority they have under the Constitution of Fiji to choose their representatives for the next four years.

On this note, on behalf of the Electoral Commission, the Supervisor of Elections and the Fijian Elections Office, I would like to invite every Fijian to come forward and vote.

It is this time that you need to exercise your authority under the Constitution and I urge every Fijian to exercise your democratic right.

With this words, the Electoral Commission wishes you the very best in your endeavors and we look forward to as many people turning out as possible tomorrow to cast their vote.

No one should be left behind!

Vinaka. 

Statement by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission 

Mr Mukesh Nand

2022 EVP Welcome Dinner

Suva – 12.12.22

Supervisor of Elections

Staff of FEO 

Bula Vinaka and a very warm welcome to you all. 

It is my pleasure and honour to welcome you all here today on behalf of the people of Fiji, the Electoral Commission and the Fijian Elections Office. A special welcome to all the dignitaries from the Pacific region who are participating in this program.

Ladies and gentlemen, at the outset I would like to say that our Election Visitor Program is an effort of the Electoral Commission and the Fijian Elections Office to share our elections experience with our friends and families from the pacific as well as the citizens of Fiji. 

We want to be able to demonstrate to you the activities that we do under our elections and thereafter seek your views on the comparative learnings we can do from this. 

In no way, our intention to put our elections forward as a model or a standard. However, we simply want to share our experience with our friends so that we can all work together to continue to nurture the democratic elections that we all have in our countries.

I would like to welcome all of you who have come from afar, and especially welcome the citizens of Fiji who are also participants in this program through the expression of interest exercise. We thank you for your interest in your election and we look forward to you having a productive time whilst in this program. For some of you, this maybe the very first time you actually see how the operations in an election happen and I wish you all the best in your learnings.

I would like to acknowledge the organizers of the event, Eric and his team with the humble support of the New Zealand Electoral Commission and the Australian Electoral Commission in putting together this program and I would like to thank the British Government and the United Nation Development Program for financially supporting this program and the activities. 

On this note, I would like to acknowledge the initiative taken by the Fijian Elections Office to conduct the Election Visitor Program and I wish you all the very best.

Thank you very much for coming to Fiji and I wish you a safe stay and an enjoyable one

Vinaka.