The National Referendum Bill stops every single opportunity for any Fijian to discuss the proposed referendum, according to former Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
Sayed-Khaiyum made this comment while presenting his submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights on the Bill.
He says the proposed law goes as far as making it illegal for more than five people to gather and discuss the referendum, warning that police could arrest individuals without a warrant under such circumstances.
Sayed-Khaiyum stresses the need for mechanisms that respect the wishes of the Fijian population, particularly their right to openly discuss the contents of the proposed referendum.
He says that under the current provisions, discussions are restricted not only in public meetings but also on social media platforms.
Sayed-Khaiyum says only the people proposing the referendum, the change in the constitution, the amendment to the constitution are the ones who can talk about it.
He says he was somewhat astounded by the quality of the draft on the Referendum Bill and it appeared to him that some of the provisions were taken out or copied from some other period in time.
He says some of the provisions within the Bill itself are quite draconian.
The former Attorney General further says it is critically important for us to understand the genesis of why we are actually having a referendum because in Fiji, we have never had referendums.
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The former Attorney General says the Constitution says the Electoral Commission must conduct the elections, or the referendum voting.
Sayed-Khaiyum says we have to be careful as to why there is regurgitation and we should have a uniformity across all elections.
