CANDIDACY fees for women or grassroots women wanting to contest in the election should be waived.
This was one of the submissions of Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS) project manager Josaia Tokoni during the consultation of the Fiji Law Reform Commission with voters who hail from or have links to Kadavu.
“Consider adding provisions of political funding and financial incentives like the fee waiver, specifically for women who wish to participate in politics,” Mr Tokoni said.
“Example, grassroots women who would like to be a candidate could be supported.
“Special funding provisions for campaigns should be available for women candidates and marginalised groups to promote fair competition. Campaigns should be divided into national campaign funds, party campaign funds and personal campaign funds.
“Money is an essential and unavoidable part of modern-day elections, but it also creates an additional barrier for candidates from marginalised groups.”
Mr Tokoni said the election legislation should be reviewed and amended to ensure increased transparency, which could reduce the advantages of access to wealthy networks.
“Review campaign funding law regarding donations by legal entities, an example is to clarify the rules if a candidate wants to give back the money to the company or if the company wants to withdraw its support.”
“A small but growing number of countries connect the provision of (parts of) direct public funding to the principle of gender equality or inclusion of persons with disability — most connected to gender equality or special interest groups among the candidates presented by a political party.”
Mr Tokoni said the submission he made on behalf of FCOSS was also from other NGOs based in the country.
