The Fijian Elections Office and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance will continue their relationship after a brief interruption since November 2021.

This was made possible after the two institutions jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Canberra, Australia and Suva on May 25th that re-establishes their ties.

IDEA has commended Acting Supervisor of Elections Ana Mataiciwa for her endorsement of the Institute’s “Political Finance Assessment of Fiji” report, released in 2021.

The FEO will utilise this report in its forthcoming engagement with Fiji’s political parties.

The study is part of a larger International IDEA initiative to review political finance systems in selected countries to advance an evidence-based global policy debate on money in politics.

Collaboration has already begun, with IDEA providing strategic planning support on effective electoral management for the FEO’s 2024-2027 plan as well as technical advice on preparation for the revival of municipal elections in Fiji.

Mataiciwa says the FEO will be reviewing the three existing electoral laws together with their activities and processes and this agreement will enable them to conduct this effectively.

IDEA’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Leena Rikkilä Tamang, says the agreement is timely in view of the post electoral review of the December 2022 elections, and the ongoing preparations for the local government elections.