23 May 2012

Military says its involvement in Fiji election planning adds credibility

5:35 pm on 23 May 2012

The Fiji military says any involvement it has in the planning phase of the election scheduled for 2014 will add more credibility to the process.

The leader of SDL party, Laisenia Qarase, who was ousted as prime minister in the 2006 coup, says the planning process for election voter registration lacks transparency because of the involvement of the military.

He's also concerned that the attorney general's office is managing the operation.

But the Land Forces Commander, Colonel Mosese Tikoitonga, told Radio Tarana that one senior military officer will work with an expert from Australia and New Zealand on the registration process.

"I hope we can accept the fact that it's not the military as an institution getting involved, it is individuals that are capable to go there and make the process very transparent and more accountable to all the processes that have been corrupted in the past."

Colonel Mosese Tikoitonga says that the military want to see that what it started in 2006 is completed properly.