THE Fijian Elections Office has received 10 more applications for the reservation of political party names ahead of the 2026 General Election.
If all are officially registered, this will bring the total number of political parties to 17.
“As of now, we have 10 proposed political parties that have shown interest and that have reserved their names,” Supervisor of Elections Ana Mataiciwa said while confirming the figures on The Lens@177.
Ms Mataiciwa said once a party reserves its name, it must submit an application and meet legal requirements before official registration.
“When we receive the application, it goes through the vetting process, and then, once it meets all the legal requirements, it is entered into the register for political parties,” she explained.
Each party must collect 5000 signatures from registered voters across Fiji’s four divisions.
Ms Mataiciwa also reminded voters they can only support one party.
“A registered voter is only allowed to become a member of one party. You cannot be a member of more than two parties.”
Ms Mataiciwa urged voters who were unsure of their current political membership to contact the Fijian Elections Office (FEO) for clarification.
With the current seven registered political parties, the electorate could see more than 600 candidates on the ballot.
“If all decide to field 55 candidates, that’s looking at about 600 plus candidates,” she said, adding that aspiring candidates should familiarise themselves with Fiji’s electoral laws.
“We have the Constitution of Fiji, we have the Political Parties Act and we also have the Electoral Act that talks about candidate eligibility.”
She also urged independent candidates to also meet strict requirements, including securing 1000 supporter signatures.
“It’s just a matter of getting yourself to understand the legal requirements.”
