GENERAL ELECTION
ISSUE 22
Lavetiviti
June 2022
2022 Media Handbook Launched In its efforts to prepare the media for adequate and accurate coverage of the 2022 General Election, the Fijian Elections Office [‘FEO’] has developed the 2022 Media Handbook as way of guideline for reporting this election. Supervisor of Elections, Mr. Mohammed Saneem said elections played an important role in the democratic process of any country and in undertaking its role effectively, the media ought to uphold the highest levels of accuracy, impartiality and professionalism in reporting. “This Handbook explains what the media can and cannot do, and provides
INSIDE:
key electoral information to help both local and overseas media to familiarize themselves with the election processes,” Mr Saneem said. “It is also paramount that media conduct its business within the legal framework and in compliance with international best practices in election reporting.” The 2022 Media Handbook includes additional resources such as international reporting standards, resources for reporting on gender and disability in elections as well as guidelines on identifying and verifying misinformation and disinformation in elections.
Page 2 FEO Launches Fiji National Polling Venue Directory
Page 4 CEA Workshop Focuses on Lau
Page 5 Overseas Voter Registration Drive Schedule
June 2022
ISSUE 22
FEO Launches Fiji National Polling Venue Directory The FEO has launched the Fiji National Polling Venue Directory which includes detailed information on the 1,468 Polling Venues that the FEO anticipates to operate in the 2022 General Election.
2
Speaking at the launch, the FEO Director Operations, Ms Anaseini Senimoli said that the Directory was an initiative of the FEO to compile and publish a comprehensive directory which includes finer detail of all the Polling Venues such as the exact location on a map, the route to that place, boundaries, as well as the areas from which voters are actually listed to vote in those Polling Venues. “As it is, any person who uses this Directory will be able to find significant information about these Polling
From left: Manager EVR and Polling Venue, Mr Rangeet Chand with Director Operations, Ms Anaseini Senimoli and the Electoral Commission Chairperson, Mr Mukesh Nand at the Launch of Fiji National Polling Venue Directory at the FEO Warehouse.
Venues, as opposed to looking it up on a map through personal research,” Ms Senimoli said. “To make it more accessible, the FEO will be distributing soft copies of the directories in USB cards to secondary schools and major libraries around the country while hard copies would be made available to major FEO stakeholders.”
The FEO has invested close to $30,000 on the preparation of the Directory which complements the earlier version that was launched in 2017 and had cost the FEO $200,000 at the time. Soft copies of the Fiji National Polling Venue Directory 2022 can be downloaded from the link https:// www.feo.org.fj/2022-general-electionpolling-venue-directories/.
EC receives vehicles The Electoral Commission [‘EC’] has received four (4) vehicles from the High Commission of India to assist in the conduct of elections in Fiji. “An election poses to be the largest logistics exercise that any country would conduct and such a massive operation must always be supported by the presence of logistics equipment such as vehicles for transport”, said the EC Chairperson Mr Mukesh Nand during the official handover ceremony in June. The Government of India had also assisted the EC and the FEO with the provision of vehicles in both the 2014 and 2018 elections.
The Indian High Commissioner, H.E.P.S Kartigeyan (second from left) with the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission,Mr Mukesh Nand (third from left) during the vehicle handover at FEO Warehouse. The four (4) Mahindra vehicles which will be used for the 2022 General Election operations.
“With the assistance of our international partners and the support of our local stakeholders, we intend to make the 2022 General Election a platform for all Fijians to express their will with confidence, security and freedom,” Mr Mukesh Nand said.
June 2022
ISSUE 22
Participants and attendees at the Area Officers Training at Southern Cross Hotel on 28 June 2022.
39 Undertake Area Officers Training A three (3) day training was conducted in June for Area Officers [‘AO’] as operational planning and preparations continue for the 2022 General Election. Whilst speaking to the 39 participants during the training, Supervisor of Elections, Mr. Mohammed
Saneem urged the officials to remain honest, impartial and apolitical in the conduct of their duties this election. “You have been tasked to manage the area office as well as the staff in your electoral area and you will also be responsible for the effective and efficient
management of FEO resources so ensure that you carry out your tasks as per the AO manual and in line with the FEO processes and procedures,” Mr Saneem said. Area Officers serve as a link between field staff and the divisional office
and are responsible for the implementation of operational plans within their electoral areas. The training was cofacilitated by Technical Advisors from Australia and New Zealand with more sessions to be held in July and August this year.
FEO pays out Allowance to Community Elections Advocates 44 communities around the country have collectively received $14,500 as part of the FEO’s Community Engagement Project in partnership with the UNDP. In addition, 44 Community Elections Advocates [‘CEAs’] have also received their allowance for conducting awareness sessions on election within their localities. Speaking on the Project, Supervisor of Elections, Mr Mohammed said the CEAs had done well in conducting voting-related talanoa within their communities and the programme was seen to be progressing well. “The CEAs are required to conduct a 15-minute awareness session on elections with their community members and depending on the number of participants who attend the session, the community receives a grant which
CEAs with their certificates after the Training of Trainers workshop.
will go towards any development activity that benefits their community,” he explained. Mr Saneem highlighted that making elections a topic of discussion at the grassroot level and arming people with
direct crude information was certainly the way to go for the FEO. The FEO and the UNDP aim to certify 240 Community Elections Advocates around the country and reach over 7,000 Fijians through them.
3
June 2022
ISSUE 22
CEA Workshop Focuses on Lau
The FEO conducted a Community Elections Advocate Training of Trainers Workshop for the Lau Province at the United Nations Development Programme [‘UNDP’] Conference Room in Kadavu House earlier in the month. While addressing the 17 participants from the 11 Tikinas’ of the Lau Province, Supervisor of Elections, Mr. Mohammed Saneem said community leaders would now be leading the ‘talanoa’ on elections and empowering people to vote this year. At the conclusion of the training, the participants were certified as Community Elections Advocates and they will conduct sessions creating awareness on elections with their communities in due course. The Community Engagement Project in partnership with UNDP forms phase two (2) of the FEO’s Know Your Election Campaign which aims to prepare grassroot level communities for the 2022 General Election.
4
Participants during the Training of Trainers Workshop at the UNDP Conference Room in Kadavu House on 11 June 2022.
Voter Registration Team Departs for Lau
A team of 20 FEO staff were deployed in late June to the Lau Group for two (2) weeks to conduct election-related activities. These activities included Provisional Voter List verification, Polling Venue assessment, Pre-poll sign confirmation and Voter Registration.
June 2022
ISSUE 22
Overseas Voter Registration Drive Schedule The teams from FEO will be visiting various places to conduct voter registration in July.
5
June 2022
ISSUE 22
Consume online information smartly: Read the full story and not just the title. 6
Check the source of the information. Is the source neutral and credible? Is there evidence to support the claim? Is it a one sided story?
Centre for Credible Election Information
www.ccei.org.fj
March / April 2022
ISSUE 20
COVID PREVENTION TIPS 2M
WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER
MAINTAIN DISTANCE
WEAR MASK
GET VACCINATED
HEADQUARTERS 59-63 High Street Toorak, Suva. P.O.Box 2528, Govt Bldgs, Suva. Phone: +679 331 6225
VOTER SERVICES CENTER Old Fiji Visitors Bureau Building, Suva P.O.Box 2528, Govt Bldgs, Suva. Phone: +679 331 6225
LAUTOKA OFFICE 36 Vitogo Parade, Lautoka. P.O.Box 2528, Govt Bldgs, Suva. Phone: +679 331 6225
LABASA OFFICE Legal Aid Building, Jaduram Street, Labasa. P.O.Box 2528, Govt Bldgs, Suva. Phone: +679 331 6225
LAVETIVITI EDITORIAL TEAM
Neelam Prasad Manager Public Relations
Sheenam Chandra Marketing & Creative Officer
Ziyad Parvez CCEI Co-ordinator
Richard Nath Editor
Asim Khan Graphics Design Officer
Jennis Naidu Public Relations Officer
Jiuta Bogiso Videographer / Photographer
Vishaal Kumar Public Relations Officer
Darshani Devi Photographer
Deniel Niraj Graphics Design Officer
7