Many people in remote areas of Fiji's west are shocked that they have to cast their votes early for the election, according to the People's Democratic Party.
About 66,000 voters living on outlying islands and in remote inland areas are among those who've been told to vote early in pre-polling which starts tomorrow and lasts up until two days before the main election date of September the 17th.
The party's General Secretary, Aman Ravindra Singh, says this was news to communities in the mountainous area near Tavua which the party visited at the weekend.
"When we went to this meeting and we informed people about pre-polling taking place they were all in absolute shock. All of them were anticipating going to their local school where polling had always taken place ... that was going to happen on the 17th. So they were in total shock when we informed them."
Ballot box in a Vanuatu election. Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
Aman Ravindra Singh says another community inland from Ba also had no idea they were part of pre-polling when he informed them.
He says this is just a small snippet of what the party is coming across.
