A villager told an Electoral Law Reform consultation in Lautoka that many educated villagers did not see the need to vote, as they felt their votes did not lead to real change.
Isoa Nasilasila told the consultation at Viseisei Village recently that they were frustrated by repeated constitutional changes and the lack of visible improvements in their communities.
“Every time a new party goes in, they have to change the Constitution,” Mr Nasilasila said.
“So, it doesn’t come back to the people in the villages to tell them this has to be changed. We look at these things, and it hurts us.
“That’s why people don’t bother going to another election.
“These are things that you should see why people don’t go because smart people hang around with those living in villages. Some are retired, but we watch everything that goes on in Parliament.”
Mr Nasilasila also called for all processes to be transparent.
“Those people there, they’re making roads in Vanua Levu, our roads here are still bad. They haven’t been fixed.”
Electoral Law Reform Commission chairperson Daniel Fatiaki said he endorsed Mr Nasilasila’s point of view.
“We’ve been to many, many villages, many meetings like this, and we were very impressed by what we heard from the villagers,” he said.
“Villages tend to have a bad reputation sometimes out there. The urban people think they’re extra-smart, they know everything, and the people in the villages know nothing.
“Well, I can tell you this, we heard more common sense in the villages than we did in the cities, and that is a very valuable resource for us.”
