THE absence of a specific allocation in the national budget for local government elections does not mean elections will not be held this year, says the Ministry of Local Government.
The ministry’s response comes in reaction to concerns raised by Lautoka and Ratepayers Association president Narayan Reddy regarding the lack of a budgetary allocation to facilitate local elections.
“The Coalition Government is committed to ensuring local government elections are held in accordance with proper policies, systems and due process, not merely for the sake of appearance, but to ensure meaningful democratic participation and representation,” the ministry said in statement. According to the 2025-2026 National Budget Estimates, $538,000 has been allocated for local government election logistics.
“Significant work has been undertaken in preparation for the elections,” the ministry said.
“In 2023, the ministry, in close collaboration with the FEO and the Office of the Solicitor-General (OSG), successfully amended the Local Government Act 1972.
“These amendments, passed by Parliament in November 2023, align the legislation with the policy changes introduced since the last local government elections held in 2005.”
The ministry said the FEO has developed regulations that will govern the electoral procedures and processes.
“These regulations have been extensively reviewed and discussed among the FEO, the ministry, and the OSG, and are now near finalisation. Additionally, the ministry has completed a review of ward boundaries to ensure the inclusion of villages that fall within, or up to two kilometers from, municipal boundaries.”
It said this proposal has been submitted to the Electoral Commission of Fiji for consideration and publication.
“The ministry has also developed a comprehensive councillor allocation policy that determines the number of councillors per municipality and per ward.
“This policy draws from international best practices and provides a consistent framework for future allocations. The finalised list of councillors per ward will be submitted to the Electoral Commission this week. These matters have been discussed with political parties and special administrators.”
The ministry said the timeline for the conduct of municipal elections would be announced once the final regulations to the Electoral Act are completed and formally published.
