Dialogue Fiji has welcomed the changes proposed in the Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2020 for party names and symbols on the ballot papers.

The initial provision’s in the Electoral Act’s section 36 state that the national candidates’ list must not contain any party name or symbol.

Dialogue Fiji believes the amendment eliminates the need to redesign ballot papers.

Executive Director for Dialogue Fiji, Nilesh Lal, says the amendment will decrease the incidents of unintended votes.

“Inclusion of this information on the national candidate list which is available to all voters in the voting booth will expect a decrease in the number of unintended votes.”

Lal during the submission in the Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights says civil society organizations can become important players in building trust and confidence in election processes.

“CSO’s can play an important role in doing an objective analysis of all that is being proposed by different parties. They can provide that information to the voters in Fiji to be able to make an informed choice about the implications of putting a particular party into government.”

The registered political parties will examine the proposed amendments and make contributions as well.