2 Years to Potential Election Writ Date

Yesterday marked two years of a potential date on when the writ of the 2022 elections can be issued by the President.

Chairman of the Electoral Commission Suresh Chandra highlighted a number of issues as Fiji heads into pre-electoral preparations for 2022:

■ Potential candidates of the 2022 election should be mindful of the eligibility requirement.

■ “If you are planning to contest in the next General Election, as per section 23 (5) of the Electoral Act, 2014 you will need to be in the country for an aggregate period of not less than 18 months out of the two years immediately after being nominated,” he said.

■ Residency qualification was an issue faced by several candidates in the 2014 and 2018 general elections.

■ Numbers used in the last election will not be used again in the next election and a number draw will be done next year.

■ Towards the end of this year, the

Fiji

Elections Office will verify the availability and suitability of polling venues used during the last election.

■ The List of Provisional Polling Venues intended for use will be published on the FEO website.

■ The phasing out of the green coloured Voter Card has been extended to June 30, 2021.

■ “We are in difficult times and as such we do not want to burden voters with having to rush and replace their Voter Cards. Therefore, voters who are still holding onto the green coloured Voter Card now have one more year to upgrade to Voter Card 2.0 or the blue coloured Voter Card,” Mr Chandra said.

■ The online register for political parties was also announced yesterday in line with the Elections Office 2020-2023 Strategic Plan.

■ Voters or members of the public who require any information on political parties can now access the register on FEO’s website.