Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem. [Source: Fijian Elections Office]

The Fijian Elections Office held its first meeting with registered Political Parties today.

Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem took the parties through a comprehensive preparation plan for the 2022 General Election during a virtual meeting following which parties were also provided with electronic copies of the Provisional Voter List for inspection and verification.

Saneem says this is a consultative approach the FEO has taken with political parties so that at the next election all stakeholders are on the same page in terms of the Voter List having worked on it together.

He adds the Provisional List for polling stations has been given for free and now the parties must peruse the List and report any inaccuracies to the FEO.

The parties that attended includes the National Federation Party, FijiFirst, Social Democratic Liberal Party, Unity Fiji, and The People’s Alliance.

“The virtual meeting was also able to allow people who are located in other parts of the country to tune in and hear of the preparations. Particularly in terms of timelines and dates and where the parties could be involved and how they could assist the Fijian Elections Office to prepare for the election.”

Saneem says parties will check and verify information such as the Polling Venue Name, Polling Venue Code, Polling Station code, Area Name, Division, Surname, First Name and Gender and report to the FEO on any issues they may find.

He adds the Voter List is one of the most important elements of an election as it contains the final list of voters who will be able to cast a ballot.

Saneem says as such it is imperative that during the preparation phase, the List is consistently verified to ensure its accuracy and correctness and where possible published so that it can be scrutinized before being finalized for the next general election.

The SoE is required under Section 40 of the Electoral Act, 2014 to publish the Provisional Voter List for each Polling Station as approved by the Electoral Commission on or before the 30th of September each year except for an Election year.

Political Parties have until November 30th to inspect the List and provide feedback.