THE Fijian Elections Office (FEO) has assured the public and stakeholders that all necessary external audits will be conducted before the next general election.
Speaking before the Parliamentary Standing Committee, Supervisor of Elections Ana Mataiciwa confirmed that while an audit of the National Register of Voters and the election results mobile app are yet to be done, the process to carry one out is already underway.
“At this stage, we have not had any external audit on the register of voters,” Ms Mataiciwa said.
“However, we are in the process of having it conducted because this was also one of the commitments of the Electoral Commission in the joint report in which they have made undertaking that it will be done before the next general election.
“We are still in the process of identifying who should do this audit.”
The audit of the National Register of Voters was one of several key recommendations made by the Multinational Observer Group (MOG) following the 2018 General Election, aimed at improving transparency and confidence in Fiji’s electoral process.
Opposition member of Parliament Faiyaz Koya raised additional concerns during the committee hearing, specifically asking whether the 2022 General Election mobile results app had been externally audited, following the glitch during the 2022 elections.
In response, Ms Mataiciwa clarified the issue was limited to the app interface and not the core results system.
“In terms of the glitch, the glitch occurred on the 2022 General Election results mobile app. It did not occur on the system itself.
“However, we note the pleas from the public in terms of having it audited before the next general election. So that is something that we are working on.”
She assured the committee and the public that stakeholders would be informed as soon as the audits are confirmed and preparations for the election progress.
“Please rest assured that we will be informing our stakeholders when it does happen and once we prepare for the next general election.”
