Saneem explains how grievances will be dealt with according to Electoral Act Amendment

Grievances raised against paid advertisements from political parties during the election period will be dealt with according to an amendment on the Electoral Act.

Supervisor of Elections (SOE)Mohammed Saneem revealed in an interview that Section 144(a) gives the SOE the authority to direct someone to correct any information that is deemed to be misinformation for the protection of the public.

This included paid advertisements published or aired by media organisations.

Anyone who disagrees with the SOE’s decision can appeal to the Electoral Commission that will then make a ruling within 24 hours. Mr Saneem said the Electoral Commission binds the SOE.

However, those who fail to remove any content flagged by the SOE and agreed to by the commission will be charged for an offence if referred to the Fiji Independent Commission against Corruption.

“Misinformation is a big area, political campaign on the other hand is different. However if there is a grievance raised regarding any paid ad definitely it can be considered in light of the law,” Mr Saneem said.

He said in instances where there is direct disinformation it is appropriate to have laws that allows the authority in charge of running elections to be able to take some action and also ensure a speedy remedy process.

“Because the election happens in a very small time frame it is necessary that the remedial action is quick. If it takes a lot of time to prepare the case and take it to court it may be too late. These sort of instances require immediate action. So the law is being amended to allow the Supervisor of Elections to determine the nature of any publication and if found to be fake the supervisor can direct the person and the agency that is giving the platform to remove it,” he said.

Elections Spending Limit

Fiji needs to consider imposing spending limits on elections, Mr Saneem highlighted while referring to developing countries that allow no more than $20,000 spending limit for each election candidate.

He said it is a global norm to regulate campaign funding so that monies received by parties and candidates are properly accounted for and disclosed to the public whether they voted for them or not.

“Politics and money go hand in hand. All the elections that have happened in Fiji so far significant amounts of money have been spent. How much, the public has the right to know,” Mr Saneem said.

“Normally in Fiji there are questions raised about how much this party is earning. I think the real question is how much is being spent. That’s what needs to be tracked.”

“We’re not in the 80s or 90s. It’s not a traditional election anymore. Elections have become far more complex, cogent. Elections have developed into a right for representation and even bigger room for other unknowns. The cost of election has become an increasing concern.”

Audit Reports

Mr Saneem highlighted that the FEO is concerned about the conduct of some political party auditors who failed to pick up irregularities in the financial accounts.

The irregularities were identified after the FEO conducted its own verification process.

“What concerned us greatly is that none of the auditors picked it up. Some instances the accounts were in such bad condition that no size or sample could have missed it,” he said.

Coincidently, he added the reports they were receiving this year had qualifications for similar type of irregularities from the previous years.