People will now be able to upgrade their voter card without presenting their birth certificate

People will now be able to upgrade their voter registration cards even if they do not have their birth certificate present with them following the launch of the Birth Certificate Name check tool.

You will only need to provide the correct spelling of your name along with the date of birth.

Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem says they have managed to access data from the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry which will enable their staff to carry out direct name verification from the field.

Saneem says this will enhance their capacity to conduct registration and upgrade voter cards in rural and maritime services.

However Saneem adds people will still need to bring their birth certificate if they want to change their name.

He has also revealed that the Fijian Elections Office has facilitated 223 name change applications since 4th October 2021 to the 1st of this month.

This includes 172 women and 51 men.

Saneem says at this stage over 61% of voters are holding the upgraded blue voter card.