Fiji to hold general election this year

Fiji will hold its general election this year, its Electoral Commission chief said here on Thursday.

The election may be held between April and November this year, Suresh Chandra, chairperson of Fiji's Electoral Commission, said on Thursday while jointly launching with the Fijian Elections Office, the Media Handbook, the Provisional Voter List and the Provisional Polling Venue List for this year's election.

The Fijian Elections Office has compiled all these responsibilities in booklets to assist the media and the candidates to understand their roles within the process, he said, adding that once all stakeholders beef up their capacities on elections, it will contribute to the enhancement of the credibility of the election.

As for the Provisional Polling Venue List, he said that the number of polling venues in the country has increased from 1,361 in 2014 to 1,435 in 2018.

The chairperson said that the concept of a free and fair election does not only rest with the electoral commission but is the responsibility of every stakeholder and in this case, a free and fair election means political parties, voters and the media must conform firstly to the legal principles.

Currently, Fiji, which has a sizeable Indian diaspora, has six registered political parties with the FijiFirst being the ruling party.

--IANS

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