The Fijian Elections Office will now adopt opinion poll guidelines published by the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) and the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR).
Electoral Commission chairman Mukesh Nand said he was concerned about a recent complaint received regarding a public opinion poll published by a media organisation.
He said at present, there were no specific guidelines on public opinion polls in the lead-up to a general election in Fiji.
“Having considered the nature of the impact of opinion polls and the international standards around public opinion polls, particularly in relation to elections, we have decided that we will adopt, for the purposes of evaluating opinion polls published in Fiji, the opinion poll guidelines published by (ESOMAR) and (WAPOR),” he said.
“The Electoral Commission noted that both Australia and New Zealand have guiding documents on public opinion polls and these documents provide comprehensive instructions and expectations on public opinion poll processes.
“However, the combined guidelines published by ESOMAR and WAPOR are more appropriate for Fiji.
“The Electoral Commission will be publishing the opinion poll guidelines as well as the key requirements in relation to election opinion polling developed by ESOMAR/WAPOR on its website as well as the Fijian Elections Office social media and website pages to enable all interested agencies to refer to and adequately comply with our expectation when it comes to opinion polling for the 2022 General Election.”
Mr Nand said the Supervisor of Elections would also rely on these guidelines for monitoring and compliance purposes with the Electoral Act.
