The National Council for Building a Better Fiji has stressed that it was now actively looking at changes to the current electoral system after the Constituency Boundaries Commission and the Electoral Commission advised the council that the current electoral rules are undemocratic.
The NCBBF has decided to speed up its work to change the electoral system and a team went to visit the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo on Tuesday evening.
In that meeting, the NCBBF team requested that the President take urgent action and call a forum to discuss steps needed for restoring parliamentary democracy in Fiji.
The NCBBF said the options available for electoral reform are by calling a forum in collaboration with the NCBBF to be held by the end of May 2008, if not earlier, backed by appropriate expertise and resources for key stakeholders in Fiji, including all the political parties, to discuss the steps needed to reform Fiji's electoral system. The team also told the President that electoral reforms will constitute one of the key aspects of the proposed People's Charter.
NCBBF spokesperson Kamlesh Arya said although some of the issues were non-constitutional, they must be addressed by everyone including the political parties.
Meanwhile another NCBBF member Dewan Chand Maharaj said their job was to look into all the recommendations but calls on the views of the people.
The NCBBF has now resolved that holding another election in Fiji under the existing electoral system would be flawed as it would amount to seeking to appoint a democratically elected government under rules that are undemocratic.
The NCBBF has resolved that any government elected in this way would be denied legitimacy and credibility, both within Fiji and with the international community, thus leading to further political instability.
NCBBF in its view said there is an urgent need to bring forward a package of required changes to the electoral rules, as soon as possible in 2008 and for them to be brought into operation with due urgency and speed to ensure that the general election is held as soon as possible in 2009.
In addition, the Electoral Commission and the Constituency Boundaries Commission in their presentations to the Council made observations stating that a major impediment to Fiji's return to parliamentary democracy is the current electoral and voting system itself which is undemocratic.
Another observation by the NCBBF is that the current electoral system is undemocratic because it does not enable government of the people, by the people, for the people, in that the voting and electoral system currently in use is not free and fair, it does not enable the will of the people to be adequately reflected, it violates the Universal Declaration of human Rights by not providing for one vote to have one value, it also disadvantages and thereby reduces the number of women and minorities who go into politics.
NCBBF spokesperson Kamlesh Arya stressed that the interim government remains committed to holding elections next year however, the changes to the electoral system must be made before elections are held.
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NCBBF Looks at Changes to Electoral System
