A Fiji academic says the Electoral Commission and supervisor of elections need to communicate better in the lead-up to the election.
The Fiji High Court ruled against the Electoral Commission on the weekend, after it boycotted the announcement of the candidates list by the Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem.
The Commission had argued that Mr Saneem had erred in refusing to acknowledge its submissions against candidates' eligibility, as it was lodged too late.
A senior lecturer in Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland, Dr Steven Ratuva, says there needs to be agreement on parts of the decree that are open to multiple interpretations.
"Maybe one of the lessons they can learn from here is then to begin to go through the various provisions in the Electoral Decree until the election and see where the ambiguities, where the grey areas, so that they can come to terms with them and have a common interpretation, because the last thing we want is a series of court cases down the line."
Dr Steven Ratuva.
Photo: RNZI / Sally Round
