Fiji NGOs' election concerns still ignored

Transcript

NGOs in Fiji say their calls to remove an Electoral Decree provision which restricts what work they can do have so far been ignored.

Representatives of various NGOs met with the chair of the Electoral Commission, Chen Bunn Young on Tuesday, hoping to discuss how section 115 would be applied.

Section 115 restricts any group receiving foreign funding from campaigning on election issues, which includes organising debates, meetings or publishing information.

The head of the Fiji Women's Rights Movement says the meeting confirmed NGOs will continue to have their election-related work vetted and approved by the elections office.

Virisila Buadromo told Jamie Tahana the meeting was more about the election process, with hardly any time left to raise their issues.

VIRISILA BUADROMO: They didn't actually mention Section 115 until the questions were raised from the floor by members of civil society; and again, there still isn't any clarity around specifically whether NGOs will be able to do any kind of voter education or information sessions out into the communities, that isn't very clear and the only thing that was informed quite emphatically was that at the end of this week, by Friday, there will be a clear set of regulations. So basically what's going to happen, I think, is that the election commission is going to be receiving programmes from each of the individual organisations and they will vet it. They didn't give us a turnaround time about how long it will take, but they did say that it would happen quite quickly and then with that endorsement, civil society groups should be able to go out into the community and carry out that work. It was clearly explained by the chair [Chen Bunn Young] that they really would like civil society, you know, they see civil society as a partner in terms of rolling out civic education.

JAMIE TAHANA: Still no clarity though on Section 115 or whether it will be changed, removed, or anything though?

VB: No, they were not able to share that information with us and all we were told basically is that on Friday we would be able to know what we can do and what we can't do.

JT: It does sound like vetting though, doesn't it?

VB: Yes, it sounds very much like it'll be a vetting process and the elections office is going to be doing it.

JT: Is that acceptable to you?

VB: Um, no I don't think it's effective at all because I don't think that's the role of the elections office and it really is going to slow down the process for us. I mean, we really should've been out in the communities or working with our constituents in terms of getting them educated about the new process. I mean, it's going to be a new election process, there needs to be information going out into the communities and unfortunately we are really...we don't have enough time.

JT: And in this case, since the electoral decree came out, a month or so delay for you - and a few more weeks from the sound of it?

VB: Yes, it sounds like it's going to be a few more weeks, we were told that we would be able to get these regulations at the end of April, I mean it's now almost the end of May and we still don't have any of these regulations out so it is rather frustrating for us.

JT: As NGOs, do you feel you got anything from this workshop? That, you know, the electoral commission's taken your concerns on board and that some change might be enacted?

VB: You know, if anything, I think that the one thing that I got out of that session, it seems like the elections office and the supervisor of elections are trying to work independent and they want to be seen as working independently from the government and in my opinion it does seem like they're doing everything possible to remain independent, or to look independent. So that was a bit heartening, but I guess their true independence will only become clearer once we get those regulations on Friday.