Why Couldn’t We Vote?
Woman with mobility issues find out on pre-poll day that her name not on voter list despite being registered
Two other voters turned up at prepolling venue and told the same
A74-year-old woman, who was initially assured that she would be able to vote from home, was sad to be informed that her name was not on the voter list.
Venina Nairabalevu is from Namuamua Village in the interior of Namosi.
She eagerly awaited her chance to exercise her right only to be informed by the Turaga Ni Koro of the news.
The frustrated and emotional grandmother claimed she was supposed to be part of the pre-poll process which took place in the village yesterday.
“I am hurt that my vote will not be counted because this may be the last election for me,” Ms Nairabalevu.
The mother of five has had mobility issues in recent years.
She claimed that when she updated her voter card in August at the village hall, she was assured by the Fijian Elections Office team that she would tick the ballot box from the comforts of her home.
She is seeking answers on why she couldn’t exercise her right.
“I do not know what went wrong because in the last two elections I have been voting at the school,” she said.
“Back then I was able to walk. “The team that visited us (in August) advised me that I will be casting my vote at home in this election because I am old and can no longer walk for long. “What went wrong?” she asked. “The Fijian Elections Office needs to provide us with an explanation as to why my name was missing from the voter list.”
Saneem response
A list of questions were sent yesterday to Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem, to clarify the situation.
“Our team is still not contactable in the region,” Mr Saneem replied.
“Would you be able to provide voter card numbers of the individuals who were unable to vote?
“We need to verify those details. You will note that the TNK (Turaga Ni Koro) of every village have verified the voter list four times already in the past 12 months.
“Also, can you confirm if the Turaga-ni-koro made the arrangements with the polling team so that the disabled person could vote.
“In the meantime, we will provide you comprehensive responses once our team is in contact.”
Fiji Sun attempted to get comments from the Turaga Ni Koro, Rameo Qaqanilawa, but he was not immediately available when the team were on site.
Not Alone
Ms Nairabalevu is not alone. Also, showing their frustration were Maikeli Vulakeibau and Anaseini Mela.
They showed up to the pre-polling venue only to be advised that their names were not on the voter list despite having an updated blue card.
Mr Vulakeibau’s pre-polling venue read ‘Namuamua Community Hall’ while Ms Mela’s read ‘Ro Matanitobua Memorial School FEO tent’.
But there was only one pre-poll venue in the area, Ro Matanitobua Memorial School, which was between 9am and 1pm.
Ms Mela said adding to her frustration was that no staff of the Fijian Elections Office had advised them what to do.
“I waited for hours at the pre-polling venue only to be advised at the door that my name was not on the voter list,” she said.
“I have been voting here since the last two election but this year my name is not on the voter list? “What kind of sorcery is this?” Mr Vulakeibau said: “We all updated our cards around the same time but to be given different prepolling venues and advised that our names are not on the voter list.”
As for Serupepeli Tuitoga, he said he was disappointed that the election was only for four hours, saying that some voters may have missed out because they were farming or fishing.