Six civil society organisations have condemned the Government’s amendment allowing ballot papers to be counted at centralised counting centres, warning it could create opportunities for electoral manipulation and weaken public confidence in Fiji’s elections.
In a joint statement issued yesterday, the organisations described the amendment to the Electoral Act 2014 as one of the most concerning and regressive changes to Fiji’s electoral framework.
The amendment, which introduces a new Section 89A, gives the Electoral Commission the power to approve the counting of ballot papers at one or more centralised counting centres instead of at individual polling stations.
The organisations said the change would allow ballot boxes containing uncounted votes to be transported, stored and opened at another location, creating additional risks to the security and transparency of the electoral process.
“Civil society organisations warn that allowing uncounted ballot boxes to be transported away from polling stations creates unnecessary opportunities for electoral manipulation and undermines established safeguards for transparent vote counting,” the statement said.
The organisations said the existing system, used during the 2014, 2018 and 2022 General Elections, provided greater transparency because ballot boxes remained at polling stations from the beginning of voting until the counting of ballots was completed.
They said empty ballot boxes were displayed and secured with numbered seals before voting began, with the seal numbers recorded in the presence of party polling agents and observers.
Once polling closed, the seals were checked, ballot boxes opened and votes counted at the same polling stations under the scrutiny of observers and political party representatives.
Results were then recorded in a Protocol of Results, with copies displayed outside polling stations to allow independent verification.
“From the moment the empty ballot box was sealed, through the casting of the first and last ballots, to the counting and public posting of results, the ballot box was in full view of party polling agents and observers, allowing no scope for ballot tampering or stuffing,” the statement said.
The organisations warned that the new amendment did not establish specific statutory requirements governing the transportation, storage and transfer of uncounted ballot boxes.
They said this could create opportunities for ballot tampering, substitution, ballot-box stuffing and unauthorised access.
The groups also questioned the need for the change, pointing out that the Fijian Elections Office plans to operate 2149 polling stations for the upcoming general election, with a maximum of 650 voters assigned to each polling station.
They said the Electoral Commission had acknowledged in April 2026 that the majority of polling-station counts during previous elections were completed within four hours.
“If the overwhelming majority of polling stations can complete their counts within a few hours, what possible justification is there for moving thousands of uncounted ballot boxes across the country before counting them?” they asked.
The statement also cited the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Good Commonwealth Electoral Practice, which recommends that, wherever practicable, votes should be counted at polling stations immediately after voting concludes.
The organisations called on the Government to publicly explain the rationale for the amendment and the evidence supporting the introduction of centralised counting.
They also urged the Electoral Commission to clarify whether it intended to use the new powers during the upcoming general election and how it would guarantee independent oversight of uncounted ballots.
“The best protection against electoral manipulation is a system that leaves as little room for manipulation as possible. Fiji already had such safeguards. Why weaken them?” the statement said.
The six organisations are the Centre for Democracy and Dialogue, Fiji Council of Social Services, Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, Social Empowerment and Education Programme, femLINKpacific and Transparency and Integrity Fiji.
They urged the Government to reconsider the amendment and called on the responsible minister not to bring the Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2026 into force.
