Fiji voter registration picks up pace

Posted at 02:49 on 12 July, 2012 UTC



Fiji’s Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, says there are no plans to extend the voter registration deadline despite a low initial turn-out.

The interim-government’s goal is to have 600,000 people registered within eight weeks.


Figures from just over a week of registrations show about 35,000 have been registered.


Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says there were only a handful of centres open in the first week, and on this Tuesday alone, 10,000 people were registered.

He says he expects those numbers to be maintained daily as more centres open up.

“If people do miss out for various reasons, whether they’re out of the country, or they may not be 18 as yet, there will be provisions made for permanent locations where people can go in and for example not just register but also change details and addresses, etc. The focus is getting 600 thousand voters registered within the span of 8 weeks, it’s not been done before in Fiji but it is not an insurmountable task.”

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says it’s still early days and voter registration is gaining momentum.