SUPERVISOR of Elections Mohammed Saneem says a person’s name, as recorded on their birth certificate or their registered name, is the only approved name that will be printed on a person’s voter card.
“This is in compliance with the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, 1975,” he said.
He said the Fijian Elections Office (FEO) would not permit additional names, surnames or alias.
Mr Saneem said the current procedure would require the FEO to sight the birth certificate or certified birth certificate, and thereafter, confirm the details of the voter on the EVR (electronic voter registration) system and the birth certificate would be returned to the voter.
“Section 15(1) of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1975 clearly states: ‘Any person who has attained the age of 21 years or is married or has at any time been married may by deed poll change his or her name, whether as to his or her surname or as to any forenames’.
“Therefore, as per the requirements of the 1975 law, any person that wishes to include additional names, must first follow the legal procedure and thereafter furnish the FEO with the deed poll or a duly issued new birth certificate from the registry.”
Mr Saneem said previously, the FEO had a liberal approach to this.
“However, our experience in 2014 and 2018 general elections as well as the day to day activities of our field teams has resulted in the finding that quite a lot of people who had adopted other names face difficulties when they use the voter card for their purposes as the names do not match the registered name. This results in the person having to either apply for a correction of details or the person having to provide statutory declaration of the alias through a Justice of Peace or Commissioner for Oaths.”
He also said in 2019, the FEO received 11,536 applications for correction of details while it was common knowledge that 2019 was not an election year.
