The Fiji interim regime has been told that the People's Charter process must not delay an election in the first quarter of 2009.
The deputy secretary general of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Peter Forau, says this has been the message to Fiji following the Forum's foreign ministers meeting in Auckand in August.
Mr Forau has reiterated the message at today's meeting of senior regional bureaucrats attending the Forum Regional Security Meeting in Suva.
This comes as the interim regime has warned that elections won't be held as promised because of resistance by parties and chiefs to its policies.
However, Mr Forau says as far as the Forum Leaders are concerned, there is no other alternative to the timeline for elections.
He says in the spirit of regional cooperation, there is an expectation that this timeline will be honoured.
