SODELPA Leader, Viliame Gavoka says the fact that over 170,000 registered voters did not vote in the 2018 elections is very concerning and they believe every effort must be taken to get the people to exercise their right.

He says it would appear from the turnout of the last election that they are failing in their efforts.

Gavoka says political parties are not being empowered to play their roles to help in this process and too often they come up with so many restrictions affecting the work of political parties.

The SODELPA Leader says they have already heard how unfair the political parties funding system is.

Another SODELPA MP, Adi Litia Qionibaravi says one day voting is a myth as elections takes place over a month in Fiji.

She says the 48 hours blackout period is not applied to pre-polling which begins a few weeks before the one day elections and the blackout period is designed to enable the ruling party to silence opposition parties.

She then claimed that internet trolls established fake pages mimicking some media organisations and spread fake posts like falsified SODELPA policy to abolish Diwali during the blackout period in 2018.

Acting Attorney General, Faiyaz Koya says the opposition is criticising the current electoral system but this system has given them 24 seats.

He says the point is that the opposition needs to work hard to get 30 seats in parliament.

NFP Leader Professor Biman Prasad says the laws governing the conduct of elections and those of political parties and media remain regressive and unless they address them and make legislative changes that were recommended by the multinational observer group and the 2014 electoral commission, they will not create a level playing field.

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Bipartisan parliamentary election report confirms what people knew 7 years ago - PM

PM says Gavoka has got his figures wrong

By: Vijay Narayan

Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama. [Image: Parliament of Fiji]

Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama says the Electoral Commission, the Fijian Elections Office and the Supervisor of Elections have established a standard of fairness, impartiality and transparency from the build up to the 2014 general elections that will stand for generations as we are guaranteed the right of free and fair elections for every citizen.

While speaking in parliament on the Review of the 2014 General Election Joint Report by the Fijian Electoral Commission and the Supervisor of Elections, the Prime Minister says the free, fair and credible elections required by the Fijian constitution is the foundation of the genuine democracy that our people cherish.

Bainimarama says it is clear there were no contentious matters to bring to parliament by the Parliamentary Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights with regard to the conduct of the 2014 general election.

Bainimarama says one election does not make a democracy, and that a democracy is strengthened and solidified with each subsequent elections as the people choose their leaders and state their views through their votes.

The Prime Minister also says that SODELPA Leader, Viliame Gavoka should also look at his own party instead of asking how the FijiFirst spends it’s money.

He says Gavoka keeps talking about voter turnout in the 2006 general election was 89% in 2006 when it really was 64%. Bainimarama says he does not know where Gavoka plucked that figure from as it was the lowest turnout in Fiji elections and then again it was compulsory voting at the time.