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Fiji’s 2022 General Election gets underway as voters turn up in numbers

Voters line up outside John Wesley Primary School along Grantham Road in Raiwaqa before 7.30am to cast their vote as polling officially opened today for Fiji’s 2022 General Election. Picture: GERALDINE PANAPASA

Voters line up outside John Wesley Primary School along Grantham Road in Raiwaqa before 7.30am to cast their vote as polling officially opened today for Fiji’s 2022 General Election. Picture: GERALDINE PANAPASA

By IOANE ASIOLI, COOPER WILLIAMS and GERALDINE PANAPASA

Scores of people along the Nasinu-Suva corridor lined the premises of their designated polling stations as early as 6 am today to cast their votes in the Fiji 2022 General Election.

While polling venues opened at 7.30 am, the light morning drizzles did very little to deter voters from exercising their democratic right to vote.

As many as 693,915 Fijians have registered to vote in this year’s election, the majority of voters are expected from the Central Division – 9916 had applied for the postal ballot, while 77,907 Fijians registered to vote for pre-polling.

Jolame Raisele was the first person to cast his vote at the Suva Grammar School polling venue this morning. Picture: COOPER WILLIAMS

At 7.15 am, accredited media participated in a walk-through to take photos and videos at the Suva Grammar School polling station before the first vote was cast at 7.30 am.

Last night, Supervisor of Election Mohammed Saneem urged employers to allow their employees to take at least half a day or the morning session to cast their vote after receiving concerns raised by some employees that their employers were giving them ultimatums to either turn up to work at 9 am or ‘face the axe’.

Voters in Nabua were making their way to the polling venue at Saint Agnes Primary School along Mead Road. Picture: GERALDINE PANAPASA

“It is not proper for any employer to force their employees to come to work without having voted. Is not only unjust, but it is unconstitutional.

“I cannot apply Section 141 in this circumstance… I would like to invite every single employer in this country to consider Section 23 (2) of the Constitution which reads, ‘Every citizen has the right to free, fair and regular elections for any elective institution or office established under this Constitution.

Registered voters at the Sigatoka Andhra Sangam College polling venue showed up early to cast their votes. Picture: ROSELYN BALI

“The Constitution does not make any allowance for any person to make a law that will prohibit a person from voting. This means that neither Parliament nor an employer has the authority to stop a person from voting. They must allow their employees to vote,” Mr Saneem said.

The Fijian Elections Office, he said, had been advocating for employers to allow employees to vote and then report to work.

He said the FEO would not hesitate to take people to court if necessary if they did not allow employees to vote in the morning, or during the day.

A glimpse of the polling station inside the Suva Grammar School polling venue before the first vote was cast at 7.30 am. The media were permitted a walk-through of the polling station prior to the commencement of voting today. Picture: COOPER WILLIAMS

“Employers must immediately rectify all their plans and allow voters to go and vote. Two hours is not enough, you must allow them enough time, that means half the day,” Mr Saneem said.

The 2022 General Elections would be Fiji’s third elections under the new electoral system, which features the Open List PR system established through provisions of the 2013 Constitution, and Electoral Act 2014.

Today, 606,092 Fijians will cast their votes at 855 venues. Fiji’s 2022 General Election will close after the last voter in the queue at 6 pm has voted. The commencement of counting is expected to start thereafter with provisional results to be announced by 8 pm.

NOTE: This article was first published in WANSOLWARANEW and is republished here with their kind permission.

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