The government has replaced outdated Local Government provisions by adopting rules similar to those used in parliamentary elections in Fiji, according to former supervisor of elections and constitutional lawyer Jon Apted. During a panel discussion titled “Breaking Barriers: Increasing Female Participation in Local Government Elections in Fiji,” organized by Dialogue Fiji on Tuesday, Apted described this move as a “huge mistake.”
He emphasized that Local Government elections differ significantly from Parliamentary elections. Many laws governing Local Government elections remain unestablished, rendering it unclear how the system will operate. “There are two sets of barriers that exist now,” he stated, pointing to the current law, which was amended last year, and the absence of comprehensive legislation to govern Local Government elections.
“It is very, very difficult to organize and predict how you’re going to play the game if you don’t know the rules of the game. So, this is a huge barrier for everybody,” Apted remarked. He criticized the government’s quick amendment of the Local Government Act, expressing that the resulting legislation did not reflect the discussions held at the forum.
Additionally, Apted noted a decline in community interest regarding Local Government elections. “People have no idea of it now, so there is a big job to do in creating awareness of the importance of Local Government voting and mobilizing people to turn up.”