Shania Shayal Prasad 
[File Photo]
Rebuilding public trust in Fiji’s electoral process has become a top priority for the Fijian Elections Office, following concerning findings from the latest Voter Perception Survey.
With just over half of the respondents expressing strong confidence in the fairness and accuracy of elections, officials say more must be done to address past concerns and improve transparency.
Chair of the Electoral Commission, Justice Usaia Ratuvili, says past incidents and misunderstandings around the use of technology have played a major role in eroding public confidence.
“People think that votes are counted automatically. That’s not the case. We still have hand counting. There was the glitch. So people have a very low trust in terms of the use of technology. So it’s just a matter of reassuring people that we’re taking all reasonable, all possible measures to allay their fears.”
He reassures voters that strict measures are in place to ensure the integrity of the voting process, including multiple layers of verification.
“Information is checked, double-checked, blind-checked. So we have the processes in place to ensure that that issue does not arise and the voting app is not going to be used in this election.”
With efforts now focused on better outreach and reform, the Fijian Elections Office hopes to strengthen public confidence ahead of the next national polls.
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