Law changes among observers' tips for future Fiji elections

Transcript

The international group which observed Fiji's general election last year has recommended Fiji revise some of its laws including a controversial decree which restricts public gatherings.

Its among a raft of recommendations included in the group's final report.

Sally Round has been reading the report and spoke to Don Wiseman.

SALLY ROUND: The observers pinpointed some other election rules and regulations like the range of penalties for electoral offences .... saying these should be proportionate and appropriate. They also commented on the way some rules were changed quite close to the elections last year and said the government should finalise things well in advance next time. The observers said the late changes created confusion and the perception that the changes were aimed at disadvantaging certain parties or individuals, and decreased confidence in the electoral process. In general though they did feel the legal framework in Fiji was sufficient for the conduct of credible and legitimate elections.

DON WISEMAN: What about the whole electoral system itself? There was a wholesale change to the system wasn't there under the system brought in by Frank Bainimarama to having one large constituency and the removal of ethnically based voting.

SR: The group said the new system with its single voter roll, seemed to be understood by voters and was positively received by most voters interviewed by the observers. But the observers did have issues with the actual system on voting day with the ballot paper being a mass of numbers and no political party ID, and of course this had been seen as problematic by some in the run up to the election. It described this lack of party ID as unusual and suggested redesigning the ballot paper to include candidate names and parties.

DW: There were concerns weren't there about the independence of the authorities overseeing the election?

SR: The group said it didn't witness any evidence of deliberate misconduct or compromised impartiality of either the Electoral Commission or the Elections Office. But it said the government and electoral authorities should make an effort to strengthen the impartiality of these bodies as well as increase citizens' trust in the election institutions. Another way of increasing trust in the elections, it said, was to allow locally based elections observers to take part in the election monitoring. That wasn't allowed last time.

DW: And what did it say about claims there wasn't a level playing field in the run up to elections with Frank Bainimarama said to be taking full advantage of his incumbent position as PM?

SR: The group concluded that all parties and candidates were free to campaign in all areas of the country. But it did recommend that revision of the Public Order Amendment Decree mentioned earlier so that parties would not need a permit in order to gather. The observers said it is possible Mr Bainimarama's FijiFirst could have had greater access to media outlets, which could have
had an impact on voter knowledge of political party platforms. They said they conducted many interviews with ordinary voters to assess voter knowledge and, regardless of disparities in media coverage, almost all voters interviewed felt they had received enough
information from various sources to make an informed decision on Election Day. The observers found some confusion around early voting and made some recommendations to clear that up including better consultation on which locations would have to go vote early.

DW: And the media environment ... was it found to be too restrictive for a free and fair election?

SR: The observers said penalties for breaching election-related reporting rules should be reviewed and said there was a need for an independent institution to prevent and rule on media biases, to ensure a level playing field.

DW: What about concerns about electoral fraud?

SR: You remember on election day itself the parties opposing Frank Bainimarama claimed there was a systematic and coordinated effort to alter the ballots cast at various polling stations. But the observers said they maintained a continuous presence at the National Results and Counting Centre and did not observe any significant irregularities in the count or the process more broadly. But they said they recognised the sensitive nature of this part of the election process and made some recommendations on communicating to the public what was going on and some changes to polling station processes. This included observers and party polling agents being allowed to stay in polling stations  throughout the voting, counting and packing processes. They also wanted the reason behind banning pen and paper for observers to be reviewed, as it could raise questions on the openness of the voting process.