OPPOSITION Member of Parliament Jone Usamate has warned Parliament against rushing major electoral reforms, saying parliamentary committees need adequate time to scrutinise proposed changes in the Bill.
Mr Usamate made the comments in Parliament during debate on the Electoral Amendment Bill 2026, which the Government wants fast-tracked ahead of the September sitting.
He said while the Political Parties Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures Amendment Bill 2026 contained a manageable number of amendments and could potentially be considered by September, the Electoral Amendment Bill presented a much bigger challenge.
“When you take this Bill and the other bill that you’ve just gone through, the one that was presented earlier, which is the Amendment to the Electoral Act, which has around 47 amendments,” Mr Usamate said.
“This other one, and I speak very frankly, because it needs to be looked at very carefully, it’ll be very difficult to deliver that one in one month.”
Mr Usamate said the committee’s role was different from the executive’s consultation process and should not be compressed into a single month.
“You must also give time to the people that represent the people, the legislature, to also carry out its consultations.
“There’s a distinct separation between these two things.”
Mr Usamate said Government needed to be careful not to assume that consultations conducted by the Executive meant Parliament had completed its own scrutiny.
He said adequate time was necessary to identify potential problems and ensure Fiji had a strong electoral system.
