The Fijian Elections Office has welcomed Parliament’s decision to review and ratify the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
In a submission before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense, the FEO submitters presented specifically on political rights.
The FEO noted that the 2013 constitution and other relevant electoral laws are fairly compliant with the articles of the ICCPR and the ICESCR.
FEO’s Legal Officer – Ana Mataciwa submitted that under the ICCPR’s Article 2, Fiji’s constitution had similar provisions.
She explained that under article two, each state party to the present covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant.
Under section 53 subsection 1 of the Constitution of Fiji prescribes the Electoral System. The election of members of Parliament is by multi-member open list system of proportional representation under which each voter has one vote with each vote being of equal value, in a single national electoral roll comprising all the registered voters.
Mataciwa also noted that articles 19, 25 and 27 of the ICCPR also had provisions within our constitution.
On the view of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, there were provisions in Fiji’s Electoral Act as well synergy between Articles 8 and 13 and the constitution.
The committee is expected to deliberate over the 20 plus submissions they’ve received this week and finalize their report to table it in Parliament on Thursday.
