The government stressed that the next elections will not be held under the race based electoral system in the 1997 constitution and this is non-negotiable.
Attorney General and Minister for Elections, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said that they will have a one person one vote system which means that any eligible voter in the country can vote for any candidate they like and there will be no limitations based on race.
SDL Leader, Laisenia Qarase has publicly stated that the next election should be held under the 1997 constitution and any constitutional changes should be made by an elected government.
Under the 1997 constitution, there are 46 open seats, while 23 communal seats are reserved for the iTaukei, 19 for the Indo Fijians, 3 for General Voters and 1 for Rotumans.
Fijivillage questioned Qarase on this system and what he means by having elections under the 1997 constitution.
Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said that Fijians have now taken a new direction after the Prime Minister said that the next constitution will give equal rights and respectability to the Indo Fijian community.
Story by: Vijay Narayan
Feature
No race based electoral system-AG
