MEDIA RELEASE:
AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND VOLUNTEER TO HELP IN FIJI VOTER
REGISTRATION
Experts from
Australia and New Zealand, facilitated by their respective governments, will
work with the Fijian government to register its voters for the national election
scheduled in 2014. They will join a logistical expert from the RFMF in creating
a deployment plan for the upcoming electronic voter registration (EVR) period
scheduled to begin in early July.
“For the first time
in Fiji’s history, the Bainimarama Government is guaranteeing universal suffrage- one person, one value, one
vote,” said Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
“Comprehensive and
thought-out logistical planning is necessary to ensure that each and every
Fijian has the opportunity and ability to register.”
With a population of
slightly less than 900,000, spread across more than 110 islands, the scale of
this undertaking is immense. The logistical and technical requirements for such
a process, most notably transportation considerations, will be complex.
Additionally, more than 1,000 Fijians will have to be trained to assist in the
process.
“The involvement of
outside expertise demonstrates once again that the Fijian government is willing
to work with international partners for the benefit of all Fijians,” the
Attorney General said.
“The combination and
collaboration of these partners will help ensure the best possible results in
the upcoming voter registration.”
The logistical team
will be headed by Major Isoa Loanakadavu of the RFMF, who will be joined by
William Hogan, an Australia-based electoral operations consultant with the
UN/UNDP, and Mark Jones, Manager Operations at the Electoral Enrollment Center
in New Zealand. This team will work in collaboration with the Canadian EVR firm
CODE, Inc.
The electronic voter
registration will begin July 3rd in Suva, where the Prime Minister
will receive the first voter registration card. Registration will run for eight
weeks at centers across the country.
For
more information on Fiji's upcoming
constitutional consultations or elections, follow Fiji on Twitter
@FijiRepublic or on Facebook.
1 comment:
An offer of assistance with Voter Registration from Australia and New Zealand should be taken up with gratitude and speed.
It is vitally important that this essential step in the restoration of democratic process should be done in a professional, courteous, impartial and efficient way. The experience of September 2005 rankles still in its gross ineptness, rudeness and underlying sense of menace. Never again shall those of us who experienced the insulting behaviour of improperly trained ennumerators, paid for by taxation, willingly submit to it again. And, what is more, it took place in our own homes, dwelling places and settlements. A disgraceful blot on the face of a so-called democracy. All those responsible for it should hang their heads in well-merited shame.
Australia, New Zealand and Canada would be more than welcome now to set this historical wrong to rights. In fact, it might go a long way to erase the bitterness of six long years of hardship for so many of us.
Post a Comment