ELECTIONS OFFICE 2022 POLL

Interested candidates to be home by November to be eligible

Fijians based overseas, who are wanting to contest in the 2022 general elections, have until November this year to return in order to contest.

This means that if Writ for elections is issued latest by May, 2022, every person who wishes to stand for the general elections has time until November this year to return. Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem said all interested candidates had to be in the country for at least 18 months before the issue of the Writ.

He said the Fijian Elections Office conducted verifications on this information from the Immigration Department and nominations for those who didn’t meet the minimum requirements were rejected. Despite the border restrictions, Mr Saneem said the law remained the same.

According to The Electoral Act 2014, Section 23(5), a person shall only qualify to be a ordinarily resident in Fiji for at least two years immediately before being nominated, if that person has been present and living in Fiji for an aggregate period of not less than 18 months out of the two years immediately before being nominated.

The same provision had disqualified FijiFirst provisional candidate Naziah AliKrishna from contesting the 2018 general elections.