“YOU can’t have integrity of elections if you don’t have integrity of elections.” That truth framed debate in Parliament on Tuesday night as MPs turned their attention once again to Fiji’s election laws.
Assistant Minister for Home Affairs Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure tabled the Consolidated Review Report on the Electoral Commission’s 202-2022 Annual Reports; a document that could shape how Fijians vote in the next general election.
The report brings together three years of reviews and recommendations from the Electoral Commission, raising key points on voter registration, polling procedures and transparency.
The sitting drew sharp exchanges across the floor as members revisited long-standing concerns over political influence, falling voter turnout and public trust in the electoral system.
Vakalalabure sets tone for accountability
Moving the motion, Ratu Rakuita reminded the House that the Electoral Commission’s role was rooted in Section 75 of the 2013 Constitution.
He outlined its core responsibilities — from registering voters and parties to declaring election results and monitoring compliance with electoral laws. He said the Standing Committee had identified several critical issues after reviewing the reports:
-declining voter turnout in 2022;
-the absence of audited financial statements; and,
-weaknesses in voter registration systems.
Among the committee’s six key recommendations were calls for stronger collaboration between the Births, Deaths and Marriages Office and the Fijian Elections Office (FEO), and the inclusion of ethnicity data to help understand voter behaviour.
“That the FEO incorporates ethnicity data into its system, to better understand voter demographics,” he read, adding that future annual reports must include audited financial statements “to enable Standing Committees to provide full oversight”.
Government signals major shift
Acting Attorney-General and Justice Minister Siromi Turaga welcomed the report, saying the Government was ready to act on its recommendations.
He confirmed that ethnicity data would again be collected, something he described as “common sense” for a multicultural country.
“For some strange reason, someone thought that it best to take out ethnicity,” Mr Turaga told Parliament. “It is a very basic thing.
“When you take that out, you basically miss the information that can be processed in terms of the policies.”
The Acting AG also revealed plans to address voting access for tertiary students and overseas Fijians.
“They must be provided the right to vote,” he said, describing cases where Fijian students abroad received blank or late ballot papers as “saddening”.
He announced that future reports would include financial statements, and that a system was being developed for automatic voter registration updates through the BDMO.
He said the Government’s aim was to “build greater transparency, inclusiveness and confidence in the Fijian electoral system so that every eligible Fijian has equitable access to the right to vote”.
Sharma defends women voters and digital transparency
Opposition MP Rinesh Sharma spoke about the growing number of women who contested the 2022 elections, saying their participation showed real progress in Fiji’s political life.
“Women’s participation in elections and in Parliament is not just a favour granted by the fortunate, it is a fundamental right and a fundamental duty,” he said, calling for more protection for female candidates from personal and online attacks.
He also criticised the Government for removing the elections results app, arguing that it was key to transparency.
“What is there to hide?” he said.
“The Fijian Elections Office needs to ensure transparency so that the public can track how results are generated, reported and verified.”
Vosarogo calls past laws oppressive
Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources Filimoni Vosarogo accused the former FijiFirst Government of exercising “great political control of the electoral system”, describing it as one of the main reasons public trust had eroded over the years.
He cited the Electoral (Amendment) Act of 2022, which he said had given the Supervisor of Elections powers “even the Commissioner of Police does not have”.
“The power of the Supervisor of Elections will overcome confidentiality laws, even by just writing you a letter saying that ‘I demand from you certain information or documents’,” he said.
Mr Vosarogo called such provisions “oppressive” and said the 2022 election was held in an environment of fear and executive overreach.
“By this time, they had forgotten that democracy means power ultimately rests in the people,” he said.
“In 2022, the people turned up, they voted them out, and the FijiFirst government is now officially wound up.”
He also condemned the former law that required married women to change their birth certificates, describing it as “absurd” and “the dumbest electoral law in the entire universe.”
Koya defends electoral system’s fairness
Opposition MP Faiyaz Koya countered that narrative, insisting that the elections which brought the Coalition Government to power were proof of a fair system.
“You sit there in Government because you went through the elections,” he told government benches. “How can you not be fair and free if you are sitting in government?”
Mr Koya said the review should be conducted independently and based on facts, not political rhetoric. He pointed to declining voter turnout as an issue that needed serious study, noting that the percentage had dropped from 84 per cent in 2014 to 68 per cent in 2022.
He said voter apathy, particularly among young and overseas voters, was a key concern: “Sometimes elections go and it is a matter of a thousand people. What actually happens in Fiji could affect whether a particular political party is in government or not.”
Niudamu welcomes ethnicity data return
Government backbencher Ratu Jone Niudamu said incorporating ethnicity data would help identify which communities were disengaged.
“We cannot do consultation and all the resources allocated to train our voters when we cannot even realise which particular ethnicity is left behind,” he said.
He reminded Parliament that the previous government’s stance against ethnicity-based data led to the sacking of Kemueli Naiqama, then CEO of the Bureau of Statistics.
He said the recommendations “aim to build greater transparency, inclusiveness and confidence” in the electoral system.
Usamate urges stronger awareness
Opposition MP Jone Usamate, a member of the committee, said democracy remained alive in Fiji despite political divides.
“The proof is that you are sitting there, we are sitting here, and some that were sitting with us have now decided to join you,” he said.
He noted that Fiji’s voter turnout of 68 per cent was still relatively high for the region but acknowledged that the 190,000 who did not vote remained a challenge. He called for better awareness at the grassroots level and praised plans to train 450 community educators to improve voter understanding.
Mr Usamate said external auditing of the national voter register was long overdue.
“This is something that has been agreed since 2018 but it has never been done,” he said, urging an independent third-party audit to boost confidence.
Former deputy prime minister Manoa Kamikamica : “We have brought back real democracy”
Mr Kamikamica described the Coalition Government’s actions since taking office as restoring “real democracy” to Fiji.
“We have brought back real democracy to Fiji,” he said. “Over the last 16 or 18 years, democracy existed in name only.”
He pointed to the repeal of the Media Industry Development Act (MIDA) and the removal of restrictive electoral laws as evidence of progress.
“We now have a fairer treatment of the media. They are now reporting freely.”
Mr Kamikamica also supported Mr Sharma’s call to retain the elections app, saying it improved transparency.
“It allows everyone in Fiji to monitor the vote very clearly.
“It is possibly one of the remotely positive things that the other side of the House contributed.”
He further proposed that parliamentary reports without audited financial statements should not be considered.
“We cannot be discussing things in the House without proper financial accountability,” he said.
Report adopted amid calls for reform
Wrapping up the debate, Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure acknowledged the breadth of views shared across the House and commended the leadership of Electoral Commission chair Justice Usaia Ratuvili and the Supervisor of Elections, whose work, he said, would help define the credibility of Fiji’s next polls.
The next general election, he noted, is expected between August 2026 and February 2027 under the constitutional timeframe.
The motion was passed without objection.
Yet the discussion went further than procedure – the debate has reopened the national conversation about how Fiji votes, who is represented, and what it will take to restore full confidence in the ballot box.
