“It serves no legitimate purpose.” Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM) executive director Nalini Singh said this during a joint submission on behalf of FWRM and the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) on the review of the name change policy in Suva on Monday.
Ms Singh said the present Electoral (Registration of Voters) Act Amendments required Fijians — when they applied for registration as a voter – to provide, their full name as specified on their birth certificate and to provide a copy of their birth certificate.
She said before this, a Fijian could apply and be registered as a voter under an adopted name, including a family name adopted on marriage, or any other name.
That was possible provided the person could establish their identity without formally recording a change of name on their birth certificate or by deed poll.
“Under the new/existing laws, Fijians who wish to use their married or adopted names for these purposes must formally change their names on their birth certificates in order to do so,” Ms Singh said.
“A consequence of this is having to also change multiple identity documents. The new laws do not serve a legitimate purpose.”
One of the main justifications by the FijiFirst government in introducing the policy was to curb voter fraud.
However, Ms Singh said Fiji had two general elections under the present Constitution, both of which were won by the then ruling party.
International observers also found both elections to be free and fair. Additionally, she said the Electoral (Registration of Voters) Act 2012 and Electoral Act 2014 already contained adequate provisions to ensure that there were no fictitious identities, no double voting and no impersonation.
“Voters were already required to provide a residential address, occupation, date of birth, gender, thumb prints, facial photograph as well as other acceptable identification to register under Section 4 of the Electoral (Registration of Voters) Act 2012, and these details were to be entered on the NRV (national registry of voters) under Section 9.
“The computer programs can easily assist to identify double registrations from names, occupations, addresses, dates of birth, fingerprints and photographs. These details provide more than adequate means to verify identity and to prevent fraudulent and double registration and voting.
“Fiji may well already have so many means of identification. Section 51 of the Electoral Act 2014 also requires a voter to use a voter identification card or some other acceptable identification to vote.
“In addition, it also requires that indelible ink be applied to the finger of a voter to show that he or she has voted and if the finger is marked already if a voter seeks to vote, no ballot paper can be given to the voter.
“There is no evidence that shows that despite these safeguards, the past elections were not free and fair.”
She said there was no evidence to show how the new requirement to provide a birth certificate name would enhance administrative convenience or improve on the freedom and fairness of elections.
“A birth certificate is not proof of eligibility to register or vote. It shows details of one’s birth, not of one’s citizenship.”
