The Electoral Commission (EC) says it will make a decision on centralised vote counting after assessing the necessary procedures and safeguards, but has confirmed that the established system of counting ordinary ballots at polling stations will continue for the upcoming General Election.
In a joint statement issued today, the Electoral Commission and Fijian Elections Office (FEO) clarified that recent amendments to the Electoral Act 2014 merely provide an option for centralised counting and do not make it compulsory.
“For the upcoming General Election, the established practice of counting ordinary ballot papers at polling stations will continue,” the statement said.
“Pre-poll and postal ballot papers will continue to be counted at a central venue in line with established practice.”
The clarification follows concerns raised by civil society organisations over the insertion of Section 89A into the Electoral Act, which empowers the Commission to approve counting at designated centres.
The Commission said the new provisions, including similar arrangements under the National Referendum Act 2026, did not automatically require changes to existing counting procedures.
“They are enabling provisions and create options for the EC. They do not mandate a change,” the statement said.
The Commission said any future approval of centralised counting would require a careful assessment of operational procedures and safeguards.
These would include secure transportation and storage of ballot boxes, documented chain-of-custody procedures and oversight by political party polling agents and accredited observers.
“These safeguards would be communicated clearly to all stakeholders before implementation,” the statement said.
The EC and FEO also pointed out that centralised counting was not entirely new to Fiji, having been used for postal and pre-poll ballots during the past three General Elections.
They maintained that the security of ballot papers, transparency and accuracy of election results would remain fundamental requirements regardless of where votes were counted.
The two electoral bodies said decisions on counting arrangements would be made in the interests of electoral integrity, voter secrecy and public confidence, with stakeholders kept fully informed.
