The Elections Office in Fiji is rejecting claims by the interim Finance Minister that missing ballot papers from last year's elections is proof of an attempt to interfere or manipulate the results.
The acting deputy supervisor of elections, Semi Matalau, was speaking after an audit showed that 650,000 unused ballot papers were missing and many more were printed than used.
He says they print more because presiding officers need to have sufficient papers to cover for postal votes, spoilt ballots, and because voters can choose which polling station to use on election day.
Mr Matalau also points out that the unused ballot papers have nothing to do with election results as it is the votes which count.
"The results were determined by the papers, the ballot papers which were issued at the polling stations. The sum total of all the papers that were issued from the polling stations from particular constituencies determine the results for whoever wins that particular seat in the constituency."
Mr Matalau says he does not believe the results were manipulated.
But, he says the Elections Office is calling for an increase in its employees because they operate on a skeleton staff.
