Fiji's Interim Attorney-General says the New Zealand and Australian governments need to stop being obsessed about the date of the country's next election.
A European Union delegation met the interim Prime Minister of Fiji, Commodore Frank Bainimara, earlier this week.
They were told elections planned for March next year could be delayed by plans to change the electoral system.
The interim Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khayum, says Fiji's electoral system needs a major overhaul.
"We're trying to build strong institutions of democracy, trying to build, to put in place strong systems so we do not have coup after coup. We are trying to end this coup culture and we are trying to take a holistic approach rather than a bandaid approach."
The attorney-general' s comments follow a series of recommendations from the National Council for Building a Better Fiji which says sweeping changes are needed to the nation's electoral system before any vote to restore democracy.
The council says the electoral system is too complex and would hinder free elections.
It has recommended that Fiji's communal electoral system and compulsory voting be scrapped, in favour of a system of proportional representation.
Other recommendations include new anti-discrimination laws, reducing the voting age to 18 years, and repealing power-sharing provisions in the constitution.
A statement from the council says that it is of the firm view that change is long overdue and that Fiji urgently needs a new electoral system based on equal suffrageFiji's Interim Attorney-General says the New Zealand and Australian governments need to stop being obsessed about the date of the country's next election.
A European Union delegation met the interim Prime Minister of Fiji, Commodore Frank Bainimara, earlier this week.
They were told elections planned for March next year could be delayed by plans to change the electoral system.
The interim Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khayum, says Fiji's electoral system needs a major overhaul.
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The attorney-general' s comments follow a series of recommendations from the National Council for Building a Better Fiji which says sweeping changes are needed to the nation's electoral system before any vote to restore democracy.
The council says the electoral system is too complex and would hinder free elections.
It has recommended that Fiji's communal electoral system and compulsory voting be scrapped, in favour of a system of proportional representation.
Other recommendations include new anti-discrimination laws, reducing the voting age to 18 years, and repealing power-sharing provisions in the constitution.
A statement from the council says that it is of the firm view that change is long overdue and that Fiji urgently needs a new electoral system based on equal suffrage.
