We are working with what we can control. We are waiting for the Referendum Act to tell us what we need to do as it will have the processes on how to run a referendum as we have never had one in Fiji.
Chairman of the Fijian Electoral Commission, Justice Usaia Ratuvili has made these comments after fijivillage News asked him on what is being done to ensure that the elections management body has adequate time, and to ensure that things are not rushed when it comes to electoral or constitutional changes that may confuse the voters.
Justice Ratuvili says they cannot control when the Referendum Act will come in and other issues about the constitutional changes.
He says they are preparing based on the current laws which are the Electoral Act, Registration of Voters Act and the Political Parties Act.
The Electoral Commission Chairman says while everything is in flux, they are concentrating on the registration of voters because if there is a referendum, it is the same voters who will be voting.
Justice Ratuvili says for the referendum, the Constitution Review Commission must complete its work by the end of August, and that must result in an amendment bill that goes to parliament to amend the constitution.
If two thirds of the Members of Parliament agree to the constitutional changes, then the Electoral Commission is required by law to hold a referendum.
Justice Ratuvili says in order to do that, there needs to be a Referendum Act in place.
He says there was a Bill that was presented, and he thinks it was severely lacking and has been withdrawn, and hopefully it comes in the next parliament session.
He admits there are a lot of contingencies there so while that is up in the air, they are doing what they can, and they are registering voters and parties, recruiting people and getting the logistics in place.
Justice Ratuvili says the general elections is what they are preparing for.
Questions are being raised on possible changes to the electoral system and processes too close to the general elections.
When asked by fijivillage News, Supervisor of Elections, Ana Mataiciwa says they are waiting for the legal framework like the Referendum Act.
She says operationally, they are continuing to register the voters and parties.
Mataiciwa says they have 1,508 confirmed polling venues, and contingency plans are in place for elections material.
She calls on people to be rest assured that the elections management body is ready to register and also conduct awareness campaigns to ensure we have a big voter turnout.
According to the law, the last date for the Writ of Elections to be issued is December 24th 2026, and the last date for the general elections is 6th February 2027 based on the current term of parliament.
