The Fijian Elections Office will be hosting the inaugural meeting of the Melanesian Spearhead Group members’ election management bodies.

Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem said the purpose of this inaugural meeting was to largely bring together the MSG Secretariat as well as the heads of the election management bodies from the Melanesian region to initiate discussions and plans to enhance collaboration and co-operation with the purpose of delivering elections in compliance with internationally accepted norms and standards.

He adds that the inaugural meeting will also begin the process for the election management bodies to work on the possibility of an MOU for close co-operation under the banner of the MSG, so as to promote the sharing of experiences amongst members.

The two-day meeting begins tomorrow at the Fijian Elections Office headquarters in Toorak and ends on Wednesday.

In attendance will be: Chair of Electoral Commission Suresh Chandra Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem MSG Secretariat Director-General Amb Amena Yauvoli MSG Manager Governance and Legal Affairs Romulo Nayacalevu Electoral Commissioner PNG Patilias Gamato Executive Officer to EC PNG Rusiat Wakit Commissioner and Chief Electoral Officer, Solomon Islands Electoral Commission (SIEC) Mose Saitala Chairman Vanuatu Electoral Commission (VEC) Martin Tete

International Participants: Dr Avinash Kumar and Adhy Ahman from International IDEA Association of World Election Bodies (AWEB) Directors Mr Joonwoo Park & Mr Jinchul Song and AWEB Deputy Director Jinju Jo International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) Country Director Paul Rowland and Deputy Director IFES Asia-Pacific Melika Atic Deidre Brookes from the New Zealand Electoral Commission Australia’s Deputy High Commissioner to Fiji Anna Dorney.